Vietnam's seafood export earnings for the first nine months of the year stand at $3.35 billion or 930,000 metric tons, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers announced late last week.
Vietnam's year-to-date exports are 23 percent over the same period last year. VASEP VP Nguyen Huu Dung notes the year has been filled with various problems for both farmers and processors.
Among other issues, the Vietnamese seafood industry has been dealing with fluctuations with the U.S. dollar, steeply rising production costs, difficulties in establishing business loans and order cancellations from its major trading partners as a result of the global financial crisis.
Vietnam's goal is to export $4.2 billion in seafood this year, which translates into $850 million in product for the fourth quarter. Le Xuan, the head of the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Processing Department, admitted with the global crisis, $850 million is a big number. Tra Thien Hai, VASEP chairman, is certain exports within the fourth quarter would decline. Already, Tra added, many foreign purchasers have cancelled orders.
While many in the industry are pessimistic, companies are improving performance while focusing on the growing domestic market. A Vinh Hoan Seafood Co. spokesperson reported that domestic seafood consumption had been on the rise. An Giang Seafood, which first brought tra into the domestic market, forecasted this year's domestic sale to exceed $5 million, according to its Deputy General Director Huynh Thi Thanh Giang.
