Between July 8-18, a delegation from the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Physio-sanitary Surveillance (VPSS) undertook an inspection tour of 19 seafood processing facilities in Viet Nam.

Head of NAFIQAVED Nguyen Tu Cuong said that while in the southern province of Ben Tre, the VPSS delegation was pleased with the farming, technique and treating of lakes at the facilities. “The VPSS delegation was very impressed with the natural conditions, infrastructure, growing density and output there,” Cuong said.

Visiting seafood processing workshops, the Russian experts were said to be pleased with the hygiene and safe conditions, especially the strict implementation of ealier VPSS delegation’s recommendations made during an inspection tour in March.

According to the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP), from January 15, 2007, only seafood lots processed at establishments recognised by Vietnamese agencies and holding obtained VPSS’s certificates on food safety and hygiene would be licensed to ship seafood to Russia.

Russia continued to be a major market for Vietnamese seafood. In the first half of this year, about 5.2 percent of the country’s total seafood export turnover was from Russia, coming in at fifth behind the EU, the US, Japan and the Republic of Korea.