Vietnam’s aquaculture exports likely to hit $12 bn by 2020

Nguyen Huu Dung, the association’s president, said that with its long coastline and more than 3,000 islands and archipelagos, Vietnam has excellent prospects in marine aquaculture, especially in farming fish, molluscs and seaweed.
Speaking at a workshop on “Developing a Sustainable, High Volume, Export-Focused Marine Fish Aquaculture Sector in Southeast Asia” in Ho Chi Minh City on May 5, Dung said that since 2012 Vietnam had been among the top 10 marine aquafarming countries in the world, with its exports increasing significantly.
Nguyen Ba Son of the General Department of Fisheries said marine fish output had gone up to 28,300 tonnes last year from 15,700 tonnes in 2010, with Khanh Hoa, Quang Ninh, Kien Giang and Bà Ria-Vung Tàu being the main farming areas.
There are many species suitable for marine aquaculture, he said, listing the main species farmed in floating net cages as grouper, snapper, sea bream, yellowtail, kingfish and wrasse.
The industry has achieved early success but faces certain constraints like small-scale, outdated technologies, and lack of links between farms and the feed, seed, processing, consumption and distribution systems, he said.
The lack of policies and preferential support to attract investments are other challenges, he said.
Dung said the world population was growing rapidly, and was expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050 from 7 billion in 2011.
By then, demand for seafood-based protein would increase by 1.7 times from now, with farmed items accounting for 62 per cent, offering Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, a good opportunity, he added.