Output of aquatic products reaches 3.83 million tonnes in six months

Vietnam is estimated to have produced nearly 3.83 million tonnes of aquatic products in the first six months of 2020, up 1.4% over the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

Vietnam is estimated to produce nearly 3.83 million tonnes of aquatic products in the first six months of 2020. (Illustrative image)
Vietnam is estimated to produce nearly 3.83 million tonnes of aquatic products in the first six months of 2020. (Illustrative image)

Of the total, 1.89 million tonnes comes from fishing, up 1.7% over the same period last year and 1.94 million tonnes comes from farming, an increase of 1.2% over the same period in 2019.

The production of aquatic products has gradually recovered after Vietnam seized control of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the MARD.

Due to the pandemic, the export of Vietnamese aquatic products reached US$2.8 billion in the first five months of this year, down 11.5% over the same period last year with the sharpest decline in the export of tra fish, down 39%.

The MARD recently held an event to promote the consumption of tra fish products in the domestic marketas well as connecting producers with distributors across the country.

The MARD is expected to restructure the aquatic sector in conjunction with reorganising aquatic production from the supply of raw materials, farming, production, processing, preservation to consumption in order to enhance the competitiveness of Vietnamese aquatic products.