The export of Tra fish is expected to rise this year as Vietnamese exporters has been expanding their market. — Photo uv-vietnam.com.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Vietnamese exporters earned US$1.276 billion from the export of tra fish in the first nine months of this year, a 0.2 per cent increase year over year.

This was announced by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

The increase in exports is the result of the efforts made by Vietnamese exporters to expand their markets at a time when Europe, the largest market for Vietnamese tra fish, has reduced its imports in recent years.

Earlier, VASEP had predicted that the country's tra fish exports will fall by one per cent in the third quarter of this year. The export turnover was more than US$824 million in the first half of this year, down by three per cent year on year.

Tra fish is still the second largest Vietnamese export product after shrimp, accounting for 22 per cent of the total seafood export value of Viet Nam.

Europe is the largest importer of Vietnamese tra fish, buying 20.4 per cent of its total exports. In Europe, Spain takes the lead, followed by the Netherlands, Germany and Britain.

The United States is the second largest importer of tra fish from Viet Nam, buying more than US$240 million worth of the country's tra fish exports, equal to 18.9 per cent of the country's total export turnover.

According to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Viet Nam is the top exporter of tra fish and catfish to the United States, accounting for 92.7 per cent of the total productivity. The average price was US$3.09 per kilogram this year, 1.29 per cent higher than the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the exports of ASEAN countries have grown since early this year, with an export turnover of more than $102 million, a 12.4 per cent increase year on year. Among the ASEAN countries, Thailand took the lead, followed by Singapore and the Philippines.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's data estimated that the country produced about 326,000 tonnes of tra fish in October. In the Cuu Long River Delta provinces, where tra fish is bred on more than 7,000 hectares, producing an estimated 890,000 tonnes, the price ranges between VND23,000 ($1.09) and VND24,000 ($1.14) per kilogram, allowing the breeders to make profits from VND500 to VND1,000 per kilogram. — VNS