HCM City (VNA) – With rosy signs in thesecond half of last year, Vietnam's fishery sector is expected to postpositive growth this year.

According to the Vietnam Association of SeafoodExporters and Producers (VASEP), Vietnam exported 8.4 billion USD worth ofaquatic products last year, a slight increase from 2019, of which aquaculture productsmade up 54 percent.

In January, the total export value was estimated at 600million USD, a year-on-year rise of 19.6 percent thanks to the sector’s greatefforts to boost exports.

Shrimp has maintained its significant role in thecountry’s aquatic product exports, with revenue forecast to reach 4.4 billion USD in2021, up 15 percent from the previous year.

The Minh Phu Seafood Joint Stock Company announced onFebruary 17 that the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has cancelled adecision issued on October 13, 2020 on the imposition of anti-dumping tariffson the company’s frozen shrimp products exported to the US.

Its CEO Le Van Quang said the latest CBP decisionallows Minh Phu to continue exporting frozen shrimp to the US without beingsubject to an anti-dumping duty imposed on shrimp from India or any other anti-dumpingduties.

Minh Phu has also been refunded anti-dumping duties ittemporarily paid under the October 13 decision, Quang added.

Meanwhile, Cambodia is set to raise the standards for aquaticproducts from neighbouring countries, including Vietnam.

Given this, the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture andRural Development on February 9 issued a document, asking local processors andexporters to get updated on regulations on food quality and safety set by foreignimporters.

VASEP predicted that the aquatic product trading would still beimpacted by the COVID-19 in the year. However, it said, Vietnam can maintain itscompetitive edge in material supply.

Moreover, new-generation free trade agreements (FTAs)like the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership(CPTPP), the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), the UK-Vietnam Free TradeAgreement (UKVFTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will helpVietnam recover its exports in certain markets.

The association suggested the domestic firms establishand implement a product origin tracing system, seriously follow rules of productorigin, and fulfill their tax obligations.

An information channel between importers, businessesand management agencies are needed to promptly deal with obstacles in export activities,especially issues relating to aquatic product quality./.