Tra fish fillets packed for export at Sao Mai Group. There is significant room to expand tra fish export to the UAE, given this market’s rising income and rapid urbanisation. — VNA/VNS Photo Vũ Sinh

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam’s tra fish export to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reached more than US$7 million in the first quarter of this year, a rise of 67 per cent against the same period last year, statistics of the General Department of Customs showed.

Tra fish export to the UAE increased impressively in January by 2.5 times to reach $4 million before a slowdown of 31 per cent in February.

In March, Việt Nam exported tra fish to this market worth more than $2 million.

The Việt Nam Association of Seafood Processors and Exporters said the UAE mainly exported frozen fillets from Việt Nam, accounting for around 93 per cent of the country’s tra fish export to this market.

The UAE is a net importer of seafood products and around 90 per cent of all food consumed in the UAE is imported.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the UAE consumes around 220,000 tonnes of seafood products each year with a per capita consumption volume of 28.6 kilos, higher than the global average.

The association said that there is significant room to expand tra fish export to the UAE, given this market’s rising income and rapid urbanisation. The UAE Central Bank has lifted its forecast for the UAE economic growth rate to 5.7 per cent from 4.3 per cent.

Each year, Việt Nam exports about 22,000-24,000 tonnes of seafood products to the UAE, worth around $50-70 million.

Frozen tra fish fillet is the most popular export product of Việt Nam to the UAE.

Việt Nam’s tra fish export was estimated at $1.8 billion in 2023 and expected to reach $2 billion this year.