Vietnam aspires to become one of the three biggest seafood exporting countries in the world by 2045, according to its top fisheries officials.
The country’s export value is expected to rise to between USD 14 billion and USD 16 billion (EUR 11.5 billion and EUR 13.2 billion) by 2030, Vietnam's Tuoi tre newspaper reported earlier this month, citing a recent report that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development sent to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. The ministry is tasked with preparing the country’s seafood development strategy over 2030 with a vision to 2045, which will be submitted to the prime minister for approval.
Vietnam's total seafood production is expected to reach 9.8 million metric tons (MT) by 2030, including 7 million MT from aquaculture and 2.8 million MT from fishing, according to the report.
The ministry hopes the seafood industry will provide employment for roughly 3.5 million people by 2030, down from 3.9 million currently, as the country moves to a more modern and sustainable seafood industry applying advanced technologies and management processes, the report said.
In 2019, Vietnam produced 8.15 million MT of seafood products, up 4.8 percent from 2018, including 3.77 million MT from aquaculture – up 4.5 percent – and 4.38 million MT from fishing, 5.2 percent higher year-on-year.
Its seafood exports were worth USD 8.6 billion (EUR 7 billion) in 2019, down 2.2 percent year-on-year, and much lower than its previous goal of USD 10.5 billion (EUR 8.6 billion).
Back in December, Vietnam Association of Seafood Producers and Exporters (VASEP) General Secretary Truong Dinh Hoe told a conference that the country expects earnings of USD 12 billion (EUR 9.9 billion) from seafood exports by 2025, and the association expects to increase its membership base from its current 160 members to more than 300 in the next five years, according to a Vietnamplus report.
Hoe also said Vietnam hopes to export more than 1 million MT of shrimp by 2025, surpassing India to become the world’s biggest exporter of shrimp.
Photo courtesy of Nguyen Quang Ngoc Tonkin/Shutterstock
