Vietnam is estimated to post seafood export turnover of more than 2 billion U.S. dollars in the first eight months of this year, a year-on-year rise of 20.8 percent, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers on Monday.

With the stronger growth, the country will easily beat the target of reaping seafood export earnings of 2.8 billion dollars this year, up from over 2.7 billion dollars last year, said the association.

Vietnam is boosting export of different seafood items, including shrimps and prawns, to traditional markets such as China, the United States, the European Union and Japan, and some new ones like the Middle East, East Europe, Africa and South America.

It is also focusing on increasing quality of the products, intensifying their trade promotion, and enhancing its capacity of forecasting seafood prices and export demand.

The country has planned to raise its aquaculture acreage to 1.1 million hectares with output of nearly 2.1 million tons in 2010 from expected 980,000 hectares with output of roughly 1.5 million tons in 2006, the association said.

Source: Xinhua