Frozen shrimp, canned tuna and crab topped the list of exports tothe US. VASEP deputy general secretary Truong Dinh Hoe attributed the result to a jump infish prices. "The export turnover of fish was equal to that for shrimp for the firsttime, increasing 13.6 per cent, " Hoe said. Local exporters had been looking to theUS as a lucrative market for catfish, but the real growth in sea fish exports has comefrom mainland China and Hong Kong, Hoe revealed.

The volume of catfish exports to the US fell 6.5 per cent,and turnover dropped 2.8 percent. Experts said US buyers were turned off by the high

prices, currently $3.50-3.80 per kilo - only $0.20-0.50cheaper than US prices. They warned that if prices keep rising, exports will sliderapidly. Vietnamese shrimp face the same problem, as Indonesian product is 10 per centcheaper.

The rise in shrimp prices here reflects a shortage of rawmaterials, whose prices are expected to start falling again by mid-April. Meanwhile,seafood exporters are concerned about the increasingly strict quarantine regulationsrequired in the European Union and Japan.

A report from the Ministry of Fisheries said that morethan 100 enterprises nation-wide have so far met the standards required for seafoodexports to the us. But the ministry also warned that exporters would still have to workhard to ensure they comply with all regulations.