HCM City (VNA) – Vietnamese shrimp exporters need to improve qualityof their products, and update procedures and requirements in the Republic ofKorea (RoK) to overcome technical barriers that hinder the shipments, expertshave said.

Although the Vietnam-Korea Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA), which took effect fromDecember 2015, has brought about positive changes in the Vietnamese shrimpexports to the market, the East Asian country’s rigid management of foodquality poses a new challenge to the Vietnamese product.

From March 2017, steamed shrimps from Vietnam must undergo a compulsory heatingmode before achieving a health certificate to enter the Korean market. ManyVietnamese seafood exporters fail to meet the requirement, and even when theproducts receive additional heating, they may be refused by the importers dueto their unsound appearance.

Also, the RoK’s demanding requirement will result in the increase in the firms’production costs, which will later make Vietnamese shrimp lose its competitiveedge in the market.

To deal with this issue, the National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality AssuranceDepartment, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP),and seafood companies are working to assure the Korean importers thatadditional heating in a shorter time still ensure food safety and hygiene.

VASEP has said that the RoK is the 12th largest shrimp importer inthe world, and Vietnamese shrimp exports to the country have enjoyed robustgrowth, with export revenue on a constant rise.

The RoK ranks 5th among shrimp importers of Vietnam, accounting for11.6 percent of the Southeast Asian country’s total shrimp shipments. In thefirst half of this year, the nation sold 190.4 million USD worth of shrimpproducts to the RoK, a year-on-year surge of 24 percent.

Thanks to the VKFTA and the ASEAN-Korea free trade agreement, Vietnamese shrimpsreceive more favourable taxes than those from China, India, Ecuador, andThailand. Thus, Korea has been billed as a potential market for Vietnameseshrimps in the context that shipments to other major markets are facing toughseas.

Actually, free trade agreements have brought great opportunities for theinvolved parties involved, particularly preferences in import taxes. However,the importers have elevated technical barriers to protect consumers’ health andsustainable development.

Like the VKFTA, once the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) comes intoforce, shrimp exports will experience both opportunities and challenges in thecoming time.-VNA