Tra fish leads Vietnam’s seafood exports to strong January growth
Vietnam's aquatic product exports saw a strong start to the year, recording a 60.8% annual increase to reach 730 million USD in January, reported the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
At a tra fish processing plant in Dong Thap (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam'saquatic product exports saw a strong start to the year, recording a 60.8% annual increase to reach 730million USD in January, reported the Ministry of Agricultureand Rural Development.
ꦇ Tra fishemerged as the star performer,showcasing a remarkable 97% year-on-year growth, with export revenue hitting 165 million USD.
Communication Director of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exportersand Producers (VASEP) Le Hang anticipated a moderate 10% rise in tra fish exports this year,potentially reaching 2 billion USD, with China and the US being major importers.
To achieve this projected growth, VASEP Secretary GeneralTruong Dinh Hoe emphasised the importance of diversification. Heencouraged the Vietnamese firms to explore new markets and develop innovative consumerproducts beyond just frozen fillets.
While Vietnam faces a slight decline in market sharewithin some major markets, smaller destinations like Mexico, Canada, Brazil,and the UK offer promising growth opportunities, he added.
According to the International Trade Centre (ITC),Vietnam remains the leading supplier of whitefish to Brazil, creating a solidfoundation to expand the export of more value-added products in this market.
VASEP also identified Germany as another lucrative marketfor Vietnamese tra fish. Lastyear, Germany imported 38 million USD worth of Vietnamese tra fish, representinga 31% rise from the previous year. Notably, frozen fillets dominated these imports, accountingfor nearly 37million USD and up 34% year on year.
✅ Vietnam is now the sixth largestsupplier of whitefish to Germany, behind China, Russia, Norway, the US andPoland, indicating room for further expansion if the Vietnamese exporters could deliver clean products that cater to Germanpreferences at competitive prices./.
Vietnam’s tra fish export value is estimated at 1.8 billion USD this year, equal to only 75% of the figure last year, said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien.
It is expected that tra fish production will see a year-on-year increase of 2.8% and the harvested output in the first and second quarters of 2024 will meet demand for processing and export, insiders have said.
Vietnam aims to produce 1.7 million tonnes of commercial tra fish and earn 2 billion USD from exporting the products in 2024, according to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien.
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At a tra fish processing plant in Dong Thap (Photo: VNA) 
