Business
Certification boosts Vietnam’s oyster exports
  • | FBD | December 17, 2009 08:13 AM

Vietnam’s oyster export business has been given a lift: An oyster farm in southern Ben Tre Province has received the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification for sustainable fishing. It is the first marine farm to receive this in Southeast Asia.

WWF fisheries officer, Nguyen Thi Dieu Thuy, said that if other Vietnamese oyster producers received the same certification, then Vietnam’s seafood exports would likely boom.

The General Department of Customs said that oyster exports in 2009 are significantly better than that in 2008. Exports this year (as counted until mid-November) went over 17,000 tonnes, worth US$37.2 million. This is an increase of 49.6% in quantity and 50.3% in value compared to the same period last year.

The EU now accounts for 73.8% of Vietnam’s oyster exports. Businesses say this percentage is due to not just quality but also to food safety standards in the province.

Up until the middle of last month, exports to the EU reached over 13,000 tonnes. The turnover value was US$27.4 million, 70.2% higher than the same period last year.

Vietnam is also enjoying increasing oyster exports to the US, ASEAN, Canada, mainland China and Hong Kong.
International customers highly respected the MSC eco-label, and were accordingly willing to pay much higher prices.