Aquatic product exporters have been advised to make the most of every market opportunity in the remaining months of this year to speed up the recovery process.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), in recent months, the export of aquatic products has seen positive signals, which however are under expectations. The export turnover in the first eight months still decreased 25.4% against that of the same period last year, but the decline rate has slowed down from June.

Statistics from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) showed that the country shipped abroad some 846 million USD worth of aquatic products in August, much higher than that in previous months, pushing the eight-month value to 5.68 billion USD.

Given export difficulties in such major markets as the US and China, tra fish exporters are pinning their hope on smaller ones like Germany, New Zealand, and Sweden, which have posted year-on-year increases of 25%, 17%, and 25% in revenue, respectively.

For shrimp exports, the value in the recent three months had increased remarkable compared to the first months of the year, particularly in the US market. Shrimp exports to the US and China saw growth for the first time in July after dropping for six consecutive months.   

Notably, Vietnam’s tuna exports to the RoK rose impressively, exceeding 7 million USD in the first seven months of this year, a 2.5-fold increase from the same period last year. Vietnam’s canned tuna accounts for nearly 77% of the RoK's total import of this product.

VASEP General Secretary Truong Dinh Hoe stressed that the most important task for businesses at present is to maintain a highly skilled workforce capable of meeting production requirements for the recovery period.

In the context of declines in the purchasing power of main markets, businesses and associations have stepped up advertising and trade promotion to effectively exploit potential of each market, including small ones.

To seize opportunities for aquatic product exports, MARD Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien said that his ministry has coordinated with provinces and cities to strengthen direction for aquaculture in the last months to ensure growth plans.

The ministry has directed the Vietnam Directorate of Fisheries to soon organise a conference on fisheries development to grasp market opportunities to reach a target of 10 billion USD in export revenue this year, he added./.