Tra Fish Exports Should Meet Annual Target

September is traditionally the month when tra fish importers in foreign countries increase orders to cater for the end of year demand caused by holidays, said Truong Dinh Hoe, the association's general secretary, reports VNS.

The demand for Vietnamese tra fish is predicted to increase 40-50 per cent by the European Union, 27-30 per cent by the US and 30-40 per cent by the ASEAN countries.

Additionally, the association estimated tra fish exports for the third quarter of this year increased 12 per cent to US$480 million.

So, Viet Nam expects to hit its yearly tra fish export target - $1.8-2 billion - he comfortably said. However, the export value in the first eight months of this year reduced lightly by 0.5 per cent to $1.15 billion against the same period last year.

The association said in the first eight months of this year, the US accounted for 22 per cent of the country's total tra fish exports, representing a year-on-year increase of 35 per cent to $254.4 million.

Meanwhile, the export value of tra fish to the EU fell sharply by 20.1 per cent to $291.6 million compared with the same period last year due to reduced demand, though the export value of tra fish to the EU was the highest at 26.9 per cent of the total.

The association and local seafood exporters were promoting future tra fish exports to the EU, Hoe said. Additionally, the association would cooperate with ministries and other sectors to organise seminars on advertising Vietnamese tra fish export products at large trade fairs in Europe.

"The adverts will include information about products and also processes from the development of tra fish to processing products and packaging of finished products for exports," he said.

According to the association, Brazil and Arab Saudi enjoyed huge export increases for the first eight months of this year at 226 per cent and 177.5 per cent, respectively, compared to the same period last year, though each market only accounted for four per cent of worldwide tra fish exports, he said.