On May 31, theChinese Ministry of Finance announced an import tax reduction for 221 aquaticproducts from member states of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Tariffs ontra fish fillets and fresh and frozen tra fish were cut from 10 percent to 7percent, and from 12 percent to 7 percent, respectively from July 1.
The move will helplift tra fish exports through official channels instead of cross-border trade,which will exempt goods from a 17 percent value added tax and import tax.
Additionally, theUS-China trade war also gives Vietnamese firms a chance to boost tra fishexports to the two markets.
Secretary General ofthe Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) Truong DinhHoe said tra fish could be used for hundreds of recipes so the domestic trafish sector could increase export of added-value products into China.
VASEP statisticsshowed that tra fish shipments to China have surged by 21-35 percent annuallyin the past five years. From January to mid-May, tra fish exports to theneighbouring country reached 174.2 million USD, making it the biggest currencyearner among exports to China.
Last year, Chinabecame the fourth largest importer of Vietnamese aquatic products with a valueof 1.33 billion USD, accounting for 15 percent of the total. In the first halfof this year, seafood shipments to China and Hong Kong were estimated to exceed586.4 million USD, surpassing the EU to become the third largest importerbehind the US and Japan.
China isconsidered an important market of Vietnam but also poses risks if firms fail topay attention to product quality and trademarks.-VNA