HCM CITY – Exports of Việtnamese seafood products to South Korea are expected to increase strongly this year thanks to the free trade agreement between the two countries that took effect last December, according to the Korea Fishery Trade Association.

Under the FTA, Korea has committed to clear taxes for 10,000 metric tonnes of Vietnamese shrimp in the first year and 15,000 metric tonnes in the next five years.

Choi Dug-Boo, managing director of the association, said shrimp was the favourite seafood item in South Korea. Tilapia and pangasius are also popular.

Dug-Boo spoke at a press conference held on Tuesday in HCM City to introduce the Busan International Seafood and Fisheries Expo 2016 (BISFE).

Việt Nam earned US$580 million from seafood exports to South Korea last year, with revenue from shrimp accounting for $250 million.

The main seafood items of Việt Nam exported to South Korea are shrimp, octopus, squid, pangasius and other fish.

Korea imported 77,000 metric tonnes of shrimp in 2015, with Việt Nam being the largest supplier of 30,000 metric tonnes.

Dug-Boo has encouraged Vietnamese seafood exporters of shrimp, tilapia, pangasius and other products to take part in BISFE, the largest international seafood trade exhibition in Korea.

The organisers will apply special preferential prices for Vietnamese exporters who register to participate in the show via the Việt Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, he said.

“We will strive to do our best to introduce potential exporters to Vietnamese exhibitors at BISFE to create conditions for the two sides to develop business connections and come up with a trade agreement right at the fair,” he said.

To be held at the BEXCO Exhibition Centre I in Busan from October 27-29, the exhibition will feature 850 booths of 400 exhibitors from 30 countries.

Products on display will include seafood products, fisheries equipment, marine biotechnology and fishing tools.

In addition, business meetings and international conferences on the seafood sector and aquaculture technology workshops will also be held on the sidelines of the show.

Thirteen Vietnamese companies participated in the expo last year.

Việt Nam’s seafood export to Korea reached $95.48 million in the first two months of the year, a year-on-year increase of 7.4 per cent, according to VASEP.  - VNS