They say seafood exportsto the US are expected to rise sharply with the implementation of the bilateral tradeagreement.

In the first nine months of this year, Vietnam exportedover $300 million worth of seafood to the US. This figure rivals the seafood export valueacross last year when the country earned $307 million from seafood exports to the US.

Ministry of Fisheries officials suggest that seafoodexports to the US this year could reach $400-450 million. The growth would bring Vietnam'stotal seafood export value to $1.75 billion this year, up 25 per cent on last year.

Duong Long Tri, deputy director of the ministry'sinformation centre said the bilateral trade agreement would give a strong boost to seafoodexports as tariffs were to be reduced by 20-30 per cent.

"At the moment, the US is the biggest importer,accounting for 27 per cent of Vietnam's seafood export value although the trade pact hasnot yet come into effect," said Tri.

He said the strong growth in seafood exports represented abig leap in the trade for the US, which overtook Japan in August to become Vietnam'sbiggest seafood importer.

In preparation for promoting seafood exports to the USwhen the bilateral agreement came into force, fifteen seafood exporting enterprises wentlast week to the US to participate in the west coast aquatic trade fair in Los Angeles.

The fair has provided an opportunity for Vietnam's seafoodexporters to reaffirm the quality of Vietnamese catfish. The quality and price ofVietnamese catfish sparked a protest from US farmers a few months ago.

However, an executive of Seaprodex Hanoi said exports tothe US may face upcoming difficulties owing to the considerable drop in the price ofshrimp in recent times. This has been triggered by intense competition from countries suchas India. A kilogram of shrimp that once sold for $11 may now only fetch $8-9.

He added that since the attack in the US, the company hadnot managed to export any seafood containers to the US.

Seafood exports to the US have posted a strong growthsince 1999 when the country exported $134 million to the US, compared to $58 million ofthe previous year. However, during this period,, the US accounted for a smaller marketshare of Vietnam's seafood exports than either Japan or the EU.

The expected influx of seafood into the US afterimplementation of the deal should make up for the decrease in seafood exports to the EUthis year, which is predicted to continue.

Seafood exports to the EU and Asean countries have so farfallen by 11 per cent compared with the same period last year. Officials said the seafoodexports to the EU could suffer another blow in the light of EU plans to raise the tariffson Vietnamese shrimp next year.