HANOI - By
focusing on seafood product quality, Vietnam's
fisheries could hit US$2.8 billion in exports this
year, a 5.7% increase over last year, the Ministry
of Fisheries said.
To meet the target, the
ministry will increase aquaculture-breeding areas
nationwide to 1.1 million hectares, up about
100,000 compared to 2005.
The ministry
also plans to produce about 3.4 million tonnes of
seafood products by both sea fishing and
aquaculture.
Ho Quoc Luc, head of the
Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and
Producers (VASEP), said to increase exports,
Vietnamese seafood exporters
and producers should focus more on the quality.
Vietnamese seafood exporters and producers
would face more strict regulations on quality,
safety and hygiene from Vietnam's major markets
this year, including Japan, the US and the
European Union (EU), Luc said.
According
to VASEP, the US Food and Drug Administration
since January 1 has required manufacturers to
clearly state on food labels if food products
contain any ingredients that contain protein
derived from the eight major allergenic foods,
including milk, eggs, fish and soybeans.
"Japan will strictly inspect toxic
chemical or antibiotic residue in aquatic products
imported into the country this year," said Ngo Van
Nga, director of the Ca Mau Province-based Quoc
Viet Export-Import and Seafood Processing Company,
which is one of Vietnam's leading seafood
exporters to Japan.
To ensure the quality,
safety and hygiene of seafood products, provinces
and cities nationwide have also focused on
breeding organic shrimp and fish, said the
ministry.
In An Giang Province, the An
Giang Fisheries Import Export Company (Agifish)
cooperated with farmers and suppliers in the local
fisheries industry to establish the Agifish
Bio-Pangasius Union last September - to breed
catfish in line with stringent food safety norms
around the world.
The union manages
quality and supervises seafood product hygiene
from the breeding to the processing stage.
Huynh The Nang, head of An Giang
Province's Department of Agriculture and Rural
Development, said the province planned to produce
an average of 150,000 tonnes of seafood products a
year and would gradually transfer to breed organic
fish without using chemicals.
Bac Lieu
Province will use 70% of its 11,000 hectares of
aquaculture breeding area to raise organic shrimp,
according to the province's Fisheries Department.
Last year, Vietnam exported 570,000 tonnes
of seafood products worth a total of $2.65
billion, eclipsing its original $2.5 billion
target. The country's seafood products have been
shipped to 105 countries and territories.
