While Vietnam's seafood exports see a drop due to COVID-19, exporters are not too worried about the situation. (Photo: VNA)
HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Seafood exporters in Vietnam are not too worriedthough import demand for their products has taken a hit due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers(VASEP), seafood exports to China by land account for around 20 percentof total value, and so the border closure has heavily impacted exports inthe first quarter.
VASEP forecast that in the best case, seafood exports to China in the firstquarter would be 40 percent lower than in the last quarter of last year thoughstill 10 percent higher year-on-year.
If the disease persists for a long time, full-year export to China could see a6 percent drop, it warned.
But Truong Dinh Hoe, general secretary of VASEP, said the disease's impact onexports in the first few months of the year had not been too drastic, andChina's seafood imports usually pick up after March or April.
Doan Chi Thien, a management board member at Nam Viet Corporation, said theLunar New Year holiday was extended until February 9 in most of China’sprovinces, and so businesses were unable to export shark catfish to them.
While shark catfish exports to China are expected to take a big hit, it is onlytemporary, while other markets are importing the product normally, with oneslike South America and Europe in fact increasing shipments, according to Thien.
His company has been focusing on diversifying its markets and reducingdependence on only one market, he added.
Pham Thanh Tung of seafood supplier Vinh Hoan Corporation said his companyhoped demand would pick up in the second quarter, adding that it had alreadybeen working on expanding its markets./.
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While Vietnam's seafood exports see a drop due to COVID-19, exporters are not too worried about the situation. (Photo: VNA) 
