Hanoi (VNA) – Export revenue ofaquatic products in August hit 739 million USD, pushing total earnings in thefirst eight months of 2018 to 5.5 billion USD, up 5.3 percent year on year,reported the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

Leading markets of Vietnam’s aquatic products inthe reviewed period were the US, Japan, China and the Republic of Korea, makingup 53 percent of the country’s total export volume.

Strong growth was also seen in other markets,including the Netherlands with 40.7 percent, Hong Kong (China) with 23.3percent, and Germany with 19.2 percent.

In August, Vietnam imported 128 million USDworth of aquatic products, bringing total imports of the productd in the eightmonths to 1.14 billion USD, up 24.1 percent year on year.

According to the MARD’s Department of Agro-productProcessing and Market Development, Vietnam has opportunities to boost aquaticproduct exports as global shrimp price falls, hurting shrimp farming in Indiaand Thailand. Specifically, India’s shrimp output may fall 20 percent in 2018,while shrimp production of Thailand, affected by recent shrimp epidemic, isjust about 300,000 tonnes this year.

Meanwhile, shrimp demand at the end of the yearis predicted to surge. Many Vietnamese exporters have received big orders forfestive events later this year.

At the same time, tra fish export revenue isexpected to rise, especially in the Chinese market.

However, false information on Vietnamese trafish has been spread in Romania, which may affect sales in the country andother markets. The department has worked with the Vietnamese Trade Councellorin Romania to tackle the issue.

In the domestic market, the price of materialtra fish in the Mekong Delta region in August was stable at 26,000-27,000 VNDper kilo after falling from May. However, due to a shortage in supply, theprices of fries still increased. 

The material shrimp price in the Mekong Delta wasalso kept stable, despite a slight rise in the price of white-leg shrimp.-VNA