The increase was attributed to the growth in exports of seafood, especially tuna.
Vietnam’s tuna export earnings gained a year-on-year increase of 20 percent to US$ 216 million in the first five months. The country also earned US$ 199 million from shipping squids and octopus abroad, up 39 percent against the same period last year.
The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP)’s statistics showed that the US, the European Union, Japan, China and the Republic of Korea (RoK) remained Vietnam’s largest importers of aquatic products, accounting for 54.6 percent of the total export turnover.
However, decreases were seen in the US and EU markets, down 12.7 percent and 0.7 percent respectively. Meanwhile, the Japanese, Chinese and RoK markets reported impressive growth, up 29.3 percent, 20.1 percent, and 26.1 percent, respectively.
Domestic aquatic product processors, which had been affected seriously by the Formosa environmental incident in 2016 in the central region, also recorded growth.
Tran Dinh Nam, General Director of the South Ha Tinh Seaproducts Import and Export Joint Stock Company (SHATICO), said that his company’s export value reached only US$ 2.6 million last year, but it was estimated at nearly US$ 2 million in the first six months of this year.
