Vietnamese 30 seafood producers to resume export to Russia

Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that the country's 30 seafood producers will resume export activities to Russia after being suspended last December, the local newspaper Labor reported Wednesday. Of the 30 local producers, there are ten tra catfish producers, and the rest is the dried and fried processed seafood producers, said the ministry, Xinhua reported. In 2008, Vietnam earned more than 200 million U.S. dollars from exporting tra catfish to Russia. However, a temporary halt was imposed on Vietnamese seafood last December due to hygiene and safety concerns. Russia is the third biggest importer of Vietnamese seafood, following the European Union and Japan, and holds the potential for further increases during 2009, said the agriculture ministry.