The Vietnam Fisheries International Exhibition (Vietfish) 2018 kicked off at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre in Ho Chi Minh City on August 22.
Visitors to the Vietnam Fisheries International Exhibition (Vietfish) 2018 (Photo: VNA)
The event attracts 233 exhibitors from 14 countries and territories, including 153 of Vietnam, showcasing aquatic products in 374 booths. The numbers of both exhibitors and booths increase by 6.8% and 3.6%, respectively, from last year.
Vietfish 2018, lasting through August 24, also features many workshops discussing the market situation, production trends and other hot topics in the fisheries sector at present.
Ngo Van Ich, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, said over the last 20 years, Vietfish has established itself as a leading and influential fisheries exhibition in Asia as seen in the surge of exhibitors, booths and visitors.
He noted fisheries is defined as a key economic sector of Vietnam that makes up about 4% of the country’s total export turnover every year.
In 2017, businesses weathered numerous difficulties to achieve the aquatic exports target of US$8 billion. In the first half of this year, the figure was US$4 billion, up 10.5% from a year earlier, Ich said, adding that the targeted export turnover of US$10 billion in the near future is feasible.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam said the seafood processing and exporting industry, whose annual growth rate averages 10 percent between 2007 and 2017, plays an important role in the economy. However, it hasn’t fully tapped into its potential and advantages in aquaculture, fishing and processing to improve export value.
Extensive economic integration and the Fourth Industrial Revolution promise to open up prospects for international cooperation in applying science and technology to promote the domestic industry. In this context, Vietnamese companies will also face many challenges and fierce competition from global rivals.
Therefore, they need to continuously innovate and better their competitiveness to overcome challenges and grasp opportunities to help Vietnamese aquatic products win trust of domestic and foreign consumers, Tam added.
VNA
