Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Thefisheries sector in 2020 will focus on granting certification to brackishshrimp farms (tiger shrimp and white-leg shrimp), tra fishfarms and aquaculture in cages, Director of the Directorate of Fisheries TranDinh Luan said.

In addition, the industry will develop key aquatic products, such as tigershrimp, white-leg shrimp and tra fish,and other high-value aquatic products to increase trade value and sustainabledevelopment.

In 2020, the Directorate of Fisheries under the Ministry of Agriculture andRural Development, aims to reach a total fisheries output of about 8.2 milliontonnes, an increase of 0.6 per cent year on year, including tra fish output at 1.42 million tonnes– the same volume in 2019 – and shrimp output at 850,000 tonnes, up 3.7 percent.

In 2020, the sector hopes to gross about 10 billion USD from exporting aquaticproducts, a year-on-year increase of 6.3 percent.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien said thefisheries sector needs to address some shortcomings, such as fishing portinfrastructure, processing facilities, and logistics services.

The total fisheries output in 2019 is projected to reach 8.15 million tonnes, ayear-on-year rise of 4.9 percent. The export turnover is estimated at 8.6billion USD.

This year, despite facing an array of difficulties in export markets andparticularly challenges in removing the European Commission (EC)’s “yellowcard” warning against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, thedomestic fisheries sector has worked out measures to make use of exportopportunities.

From early March to September, the prices of brackish shrimp declined due tocompetitive materials from India and Ecuador and the inventory output from2018, as well as China’s stricter control of quality and traceability at border.

Given those issues, the directorate has promptly evaluated the marketdevelopments to orient production and promote supply chains to reduce risks forexported shrimp products.

As a result, the breeding area for brackish shrimp in 2019 was estimated at720,000 hectares, and the output reached 750,000 tonnes.

For tra fish products, thedirectorate directed localities to carry out measures to maintain growth in2019, and coordinated with relevant agencies to increase inspections onprocessing and export conditions.

The total tra fish farmingarea in 2019 is estimated to reach 6,600 hectares, up 22.2 per cent against thesame period last year, and the output is expected to hit 1.42 million tonnes.The export turnover is hoped to stand at 1.9 billion USD./.