(Anova) - Vietnam ’s catfish exports in the first nine months of 2008 increased by 77 percent in quantity and 52 percent in value, earning over 1 billion USD, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

 The sharp rise in catfish exports is likely to continue as new markets, notably Russia , the Middle East and some Asia countries, are having growing demands for the commodity, MARD experts said.

Russia is now the biggest market of Vietnamese catfish as it spent 155.6 million USD on the staple in the first nine months of 2008, a 188 % rise over the same period last year. Ukraine ranks second with 104.7 million USD and a 255 percent increase.

To push up exports, local businesses need to agree upon a floor price to avoid unfair competition, while attaching great importance to the safety hygiene, said Luong Le Phuong, MARD’s deputy minister.

At an average revenue of 150 million USD per month, Vietnam ’s catfish exports are expected to fetch 1.5 billion USD in 2008.-Enditem

(Source: VNA)