Workers process tra fillets at Go Dang Seafood Co. Earnings from tra fish exports declined while output for the fish in the Mekong Delta increased in the first half of this year. — VNA/VNS Vu Sinh

CAN THO (Biz Hub) — Tra fish output in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta increased in the first six months of 2015, though the value of exported tra fish products experienced a downfall.

Deputy Chairman and General Secretary of the Viet Nam Pangasius Association Vo Hung Dung said that as of June 30, total tra fish output stood at 516,140 tonnes, up 1.22 per cent compared to the same period last year.

However, earnings from the export of tra fish products dropped 9.6 per cent year on year to US$616.6 million.

Nevertheless, he reported that the monthly export turnover was increasing, and forecast that exports turnover for three quarters is expected to be equivalent to the same period last year.

He noted significant changes in markets for the country's tra fish exports since late 2014, with strong decreases in exports to the EU, slight reductions in the US market, while shipments to mainland China and Hong Kong surged by over 42.8 per cent.

Exports to the ASEAN market have also posted a positive growth.

Dung attributed the drop in shipments to the EU and the US to a cheaper Euro and stricter technical barriers. The price of tra fish exports also fell by 5 cents per pound in the US, and anti-dumping measures taken by US organisations resulted in difficulties for Vietnamese exporters, he said — VNS