Seafood companies win approval to export to Brazil

Brazil has allowed some Vietnamese seafood companies to ship their products directly to the largest Latin American economy, Vietnam’s Trade Ministry said.

Some 60 Vietnamese companies have met Brazilian requirements to export seafood, excluding hard-shelled products like shrimps and crabs, the ministry said in a statement posted on its website Thursday, citing a document from Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply.

The decision would allow Vietnamese companies to make more profit as they have been exporting their products to Brazil via companies in a third country, the ministry said.

Vietnam’s economic growth has slowed to a nine-year low as the deepening global recession cuts demand for Asian goods. The country’s seafood exports may fall 12 percent to $4 billion this year, Minister of Agriculture Cao Duc Phat said January 16.

Some Brazilian importers have requested for 2,000 to 3,000 tons of pangasius catfish from Vietnam to be sold at supermarkets, hotels and restaurants in the South American country, Vietnam’s Trade Ministry said.

Source: Bloomberg