EU gives access to 25 more seafood exporters

The European Commission (EC) has recognized 25 more Vietnamese seafood companies as meeting requirements to export products to the EU. The newly recognized seafood companies will be able to export to the EU as of January 31, 2008.

With the new decision, the total number of Vietnamese seafood companies eligible to export to the EU has reached 269.

The 25 newly recognized companies include two canned food processors and 23 frozen product exporters.

Problems with food hygiene and antibiotic residue were the main reasons why the EU had previously rejected seafood imports from Vietnam.

In 2007, the EC’s Health and Consumer Protection Directorate sent two inspection delegations to Vietnam to examine the implementation of the program on controlling toxic chemical substances in aquaculture (January 2007), and examine the control over seafood farming and processing sanitation (September 2007).

The EC’s inspection tours led to the commission’s decision that actions taken by the Vietnamese side to ensure the safety and sanitation of seafood products have made Vietnam’s seafood eligible for export to the EU.

With more than 500mil consumers, the EU remains one of Vietnam’s biggest seafood markets, which consumes 39% of total exports. In 2007, Vietnam exported 274,700 tons of seafood to the EU, bringing in $912mil, an increase of 29% over the previous year.

Commercial affair divisions under Vietnamese embassies in EU countries have forecast that the EU’s consumption of seafood products will increase by 5-8% this year, which will make the seafood price increase by 5-7%. Higher demand will bring more opportunities to Vietnamese exporters. However, analysts warn that Vietnam will have to compete with North European countries, Russia, Ecuador, China, Thailand, India and Canada for EU market share.

While the supply of shrimp to other parts of the world has been decreasing, the supply to the EU did not see any considerable decrease. Vietnam’s frozen shrimp products now hold some 4% of the EU market share.

It is expected that Vietnam’s seafood export turnover will reach $1bil in 2008, and the EU will remain Vietnam’s biggest market.

The EU is also a part of the world that imports most of the global supply of seafood. In 2006, the 25 members of the EU consumed $38.9bil worth of seafood, an increase of 10.7% compared to 2005. (VNN)