Vietnam promotes seafood exports to Europe

Illustrative photo (Photo: VNA)

Brussels (VNA) – Vietnamese aquatic products are being introduced at the Seafood Expo Global, the biggest event of its kind in the world, which takes place in Brussels, Belgium, from April 24-26. 

This is the 20th time Vietnam has taken part in the event. Over the past five years, the Vietnamese corner is one of the ten biggest in the expo.

This year’s event brought together more than 1,850 units from 79 countries and territories worldwide. It is expected to draw over 28,000 visitors, including European seafood distributors and processors who come to seek business opportunities. 

At the opening ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium Vu Anh Quang visited Vietnamese booths, pledging that the Vietnamese Embassy will try its best to facilitate the access of Vietnamese products to the European market. 

To Tuong Lan, Deputy Secretary General of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), told the Vietnam News Agency that the expo is very useful as it helps businesses promote their products and explore the taste of consumers, urging Vietnamese enterprises to grasp market trends in order to introduce suitable products. 

Statistics show that Europe was Vietnam’s biggest seafood importer in 2017 with a turnover of 1.5 billion USD. 2018 is expected to be a promising year for Vietnam’s shrimp exports.

In September 2017, the European Commission issued a yellow card warning Vietnam for failing to progress in fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. 

After April 23, the EU will assess Vietnam’s efforts to fight IUU fishing. The "yellow card" is followed by a "green card" if the problem is resolved or a "red card" if it isn’t. A “red card” can lead to a trade ban on fishery products.