Processors want import of seafood materials

To increase seafood export value to 6-8 billion USD a year, the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP) has asked for the Government’s permission to import seafood materials.

The proposal, based on the fact that many domestic aquatic processors are operating under their capacity due to a shortage of materials input, estimatedly forecast the imports would cost between 1-2 billion USD per year.

It will be hard for Vietnam to exceed the level of 4 billion USD in annual export value if it relies on the domestic supply only, VASEP Vice President Nguyen Huu Dung said.

He added that if Vietnam imports annually 1-2 billion USD worth of aquatic product materials, the country – which now ranks sixth among seafood exporters – will be able to increase its export value by 1.8-3.5 billion USD to 6-8 billion USD annually, thus ranking second, after China, in the field.

A VASEP survey indicates that in the coming years, seafood output will not surpass the current level of 2.1 million tonnes a year, while littoral seafood resources have been exhausted and offshore fishing vessels have worked inefficiently.

In recent years, seafood processing mills have developed faster than the growth in seafood output.

Processing mills in the country now need around 4.5-5.1 million tonnes of materials a year while the country is capable of supplying around 3.2 million tonnes. (VNA)