Workers process tra fish for export at Southern Seafood Technology Company in Can Tho Province. Exports of tra fish are expected to reach around $800 million in the first half of this year, down 7.3 per cent year-on-year. — VNA/VNS Photo Duy Khuong

HA NOI (Biz Hub)— Exports of tra fish are expected to reach around US$800 million in the first half of this year, down 7.3 per cent year-on-year, according to the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

Tra fish exports experienced a yearly decrease of 6.7 per cent in the past five months, reaching around $670 million in that time, VASEP said, blaming the unsatisfactory results for declining export value in some markets including the EU, one of Viet Nam's biggest customers.

Over the period, the country exported only $151 million worth of tra fish to the EU, plunging 17.6 per cent against the same time last year.

Truong Dinh Hoe, general secretary of VASEP, predicted that tra fish demand from the EU markets were not likely to recover as expected and Viet Nam's tra fish exports to the EU may not grow in the near future as the bloc's debt crisis had not been overcome, while consumer power was yet to change positively.

On a brighter note, Hoe said exports of tra fish to the US, another important market, could recover in the latter months of this year.

Tra fish exports to the US continued to increase, earning $150.8 million in the first five months, up 3.8 per cent against the same period last year.

Earlier, VASEP forecast that tra fish exports would bring in $1.9 billion by the year-end, surging 5.5 per cent year-on-year.

Tra fish business should meet stricter hygiene and registration conditions to guarantee quality and improve management of the sector, experts have said.

There should also be more co-ordination among tra fish farmers, processors and exporters, they said. — VNS