CAN THO - Vietnam reported a fishery trade surplus of over US$4.23 billion between January and August despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The fishery sector made US$5.57 billion in export revenue while its import bill was US$1.34 billion, up 7% and 17.3%, respectively, over the same period last year, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs. The United States was Vietnam’s largest buyer of fishery products during the eight-month period, with a value of over US$1.3 billion, rising by 26.9% year-on-year and accounting for 23.3% of the sector’s total exports. Japan came second with a value of over US$870 million, down 3.7% year-on-year and making up 15.8% of the sector’s total exports, followed by the European Union, China and South Korea. Meanwhile, India was the country’s biggest fishery product supplier between January and August, with a value of over US$229.1 million, soaring by 41.3% year-on-year and representing 16.9% of the sector’s total imports, followed by Norway and Southeast Asia. In August alone, Vietnam’s fishery export revenue reached over US$595 million, down 30.3% month-on-month, while the import value of the products amounted to US$147.5 million, down 15% month-on-month. Despite the decline in the import and export turnover, the fishery industry earned a trade surplus of US$447.5 million in August.

By Trung Chanh