In the first six months of 2009, US$1.7 billion worth of seafood was exported from Vietnam, which was 10.7 percent less than in the first half of 2008. Seafood exports fell across the board, including to the largest export markets, the EU, Japan and the US. Truong Dinh Hoe, the secretary general of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), has predicted that the demand in importing countries will continue to fall as the global economic crisis settles in. Vietnamese seaf

The Vietnam Pepper Association has recommended its members not to continuously export produce, in a move to avoid a price fallout in the world market.

Russia and several other markets have increased purchases of seafood from Vietnam, bringing big opportunities to exporters and farmers.

The Viet Nam Food Association has asked the Government to allow the export of an additional 200,000 tonnes of rice, lifting the country’s rice export target this year to 5.2 million tonnes.

The financial downturn and economic recession in major export markets like the US, the EU and Japan was not good for Vietnamese exports in 2008. However, when taking exports for the year as a whole, the numbers look not so bad.

In the first two months of 2009 Vietnam exported US$310 million worth of wood products, only half of that exported in the first two months of 2008. The US$3 billion target that was set for wood product exports in 2009 is now moot. Nguyen Ton Quyen, the vice president cum secretary general of the Vietnam Forestry Association, gave the bad news at a workshop that was held recently to discuss opportunities and challenges as well as ways to development the Vietnamese wood industry in a sustainable w

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung presided over a meeting on March 18, 2009 in the city of Long Xuyen (An Giang province) at which was discussed the production and sale of Tra and Basa fish in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta. Attended the meeting were representatives of ministries, departments and leader in the agricultural sector in the Mekong Delta provinces.

The Shoe Manufacturers Association of Canada (SMAC) has filed a complaint with regulators demanding an investigation into the prices of waterproof, rubber-soled shoes imported from Vietnam and China.

Vietnam's exports to the US are likely to increase 14.5 percent this year, the commercial counselor in Washington, Ngo Van Thoan, forecasts.

The plastic industry is targeting an export turnover of US$1 billion in 2009, a year-on-year increase of 15.9 per cent, says the Viet Nam Plastic Association.