The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said the value of seafood exports rose 24.2 per cent to US$3.45 billion, of which 48 to 49 per cent came from shrimps and prawns. — Photo vietstock.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The export value of seafood in the first half of this year grew strongly due to a sharp increase in shrimps and prawns.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said the value of seafood exports rose 24.2 per cent to US$3.45 billion, of which 48 to 49 per cent came from shrimps and prawns.

The Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers said shrimps and prawns were strongly sought by the United States, the European Union, Japan, South Korea and China.

Earlier this year, disease in many shrimps and prawn supplies from other countries led to a boom in the domestic market, which was unaffected.

Tran Van Pham, general director of Soc Trang Seafood Joint Stock Company, the second largest shrimp exporter in Viet Nam, said shrimp exporters were kept busy processing product.

At the end of June, in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces, shrimp and prawn prices rose by VND20,000 per kilo to between VND120,000-125,000kg for white-leg shrimp and from VND255,000 to 260,000kg for prawn. In mid-June, prices rose from VND275,000 to 280,000 per kilo for prawn.

Pham said that high prices for shrimp and prawn had forced some importers to delay buying Vietnamese product.

The total export value of seafood this year is expected to reach $6.9 billion, which includes $3.5 billion from shrimp and prawn exports, similar to that of 2013. — VNS