Workers process shrimp at a factory in Vung Tau city, the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – To gain a larger market share in China,aquatic product exporters of Vietnam have been urged to target restaurants andhotels.
In 2018, Vietnam exported 2.25 billion USD worthof tra and basa fish and 3.5 billion USD worth of shrimp products.
China has licensed 686 Vietnamese businesses to shipaquatic products to this country, according to the Agro Processing and MarketDevelopment Department (Agrotrade) under the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment.
To Tuong Lan, Deputy Secretary-General of theVietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), noted since2017, with import turnover of more than 1 billion USD, China has been one ofthe four biggest markets of Vietnamese aquatic products.
Vietnam has advantages in the shipment ofaquatic products to this market, including preferential tariffs and China’splan to reduce its own aquatic farming. However, the fact that China istightening control over product quality will pose many challenges to Vietnamesefirms, not to mention competition with rivals like India, Thailand andIndonesia, according to VASEP.
Meanwhile, Deputy Director of Agrotrade Tran VanCong said Vietnam’s aquatic products have neither a widespread presence innortheastern and western areas of China, or ties with major companies anddistribution networks in the nation.
Bui Anh Dung, Deputy Director General of theMinh Phu Group – a major shrimp exporter, said the Chinese economy hasdeveloped strongly over the past years and is the biggest consumer market inthe world. Therefore, Vietnamese companies should make stronger efforts tobuild their brands and foster partnerships with Chinese firms.
At a recent forum in Ho Chi Minh City, the ChinaTourist Hotel Association advised Vietnamese firms to target certain segmentsto expand.
It noted China has many restaurants and hotelsthat need high-quality aquatic products, some of them have developed their ownsupply chains, creating a chance for Vietnamese companies to form partnerships.
Cong said to help exporters to compete inforeign markets, State agencies are improving the business climate. Inparticular, Agrotrade is stepping up standard and brand building and grantingcodes for production regions.
Market forecasts, warnings of trade remediesagainst Vietnamese exports and measures to fight origin fraud will be enhanced,the official noted, adding that his agency will also keep close watch onchanges in the international situation, especially US-China trade tension, to haveappropriate responses.-VNA
VNA
