HCM City (VNA) – Export value of aquatic productsreached 405 million USD in February, pushing the figure in the first twomonths of 2021 to over 1 billion USD, up 2.2 percent over the same period lastyear, reported the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers(VASEP).

According to the association, exports of tra fish saw positive signals sincethe beginning of this year after consecutive drops in 2020, with a 1.7 percentrise in the first two months of 2021 to 214 million USD.

In January, excepting for China and the EU, upturn was seen in the majority ofmarkets of Vietnamese tra fish, including the US with 51 percent, Mexico 73percent, Australia 45 percent and Canada 42 percent. Other markets such as Brazil, Colombia, the UK and Russia also experienced an increase of 37-129 percent.

Meanwhile, shrimp export in February was estimated at 160 million USD, down 18percent year on year, resulting in over 380 million USD in the first two monthsof 2021, a slight annual fall of 0.8 percent.

At the same time, seafood exports rose 31.4 percent to 264 million USD inJanuary but dropped 21 percent to 156 million USD in February, resulting in the two-month export value of 420 million USD, up 5.5 percent.

The VASEP said that in the first two months of this year, exports of Vietnameseaquatic products were affected by demands of markets amidst COVID-19 pandemic.

The association forecast that aquatic export value in March will reach about 640million USD, up 1.5 percent over the same period last year thanks to highdemand in the US, EU and members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreementfor Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)./.