A business-to-business (B2B) meeting was organised by the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and K-Fish Trade Support Centre in HCM City to provide networking opportunities for 12 Korean and 50 Vietnamese seafood companies.

The Korean firms were looking to export raw and processed seafood to Viet Nam and import raw seafood from Viet Nam for processing.

Bae Byeong-Cheol, chief representative of K-fish, said: “Korean seafood is plentiful in terms of variety, and because of the difference in climate and location, Korea can supply a great deal of high-quality products unavailable in Viet Nam. We are striving to help more Vietnamese enjoy Korean seafood.”

Consumers in both countries have reacted favourably and would like to try out more of each other’s seafood products, he said.

Le Thi Nguyet of Van Kim Commercial Joint Stock Company said Korean seafood products are very safe and of very high quality, but are usually more expensive than products from Southeast Asian countries, which could deter many Vietnamese from consuming them.

Bae said several Korean companies are facing difficulties in exporting raw seafood to Viet Nam because of the lengthy customs and other formalities involved, and would like to see the process streamlined.

Viet Nam exports three times the seafood to Korea that it buys from the country, he added.

Vietnamese seafood exports to South Korea reached US$390.7 million in the first six months of this year, accounting for 9.8 per cent of the total seafood export turnover of the country, the General Department of Viet Nam Customs reported. — VNS