Russian authorities have approved ten Vietnamese seafood exporters to ship their products to the country, said the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors on Sunday.

The latest move comes on the heels of a July inspection by the Russian Federal Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance Service (VPSS) to check safety standards at 20 aquaculture breeding and processing facilities in the Mekong Delta region.

Ten of those enterprises satisfied inspectors and are now licensed to export products to Russia.

The approved companies include the Southern Seafood Industrial Limited Co., Changhua Vietnam, Dong Bang Xanh (Green Delta) Limited Co., Basa Joint Stock Company, Cafatex, Asia-Pacific Frozen Seafood Factory, Cho Lon Factory, the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Seafood Import-Export Processing Company and NTCO.

VPSS inspectors went to Vietnam in March to inspect the enforcement of food safety standards in local seafood processing facilities, aiming to short-list businesses qualified for exporting seafood and other aquatic products to the market.

After the initial inspection, the Russian agency banned the import of Vietnamese seafood, citing problems with food safety standards.

It issued directives in April stating that only enterprises possessing its food safety and hygiene certificates would be licensed to export seafood and other aquatic produce to Russia.

VPSS plans to continue inspections in the future and is expected to sign an agreement this month with Vietnam’s National Fisheries Quality Assurance and Veterinary Directorate to facilitate bilateral seafood trade.

Vietnam exported over 58,700 tons of aquatic products worth a total of US$126.3 million to Russia last year.

According to the Vietnamese association (VASEP), Russia is a promising seafood market with consistently rising consumption.

The country’s seafood exports in the January-July period were posted at nearly $2 billion, compared with $1.7 billion recorded in the first seven months of 2006.

The ministry attributed the higher export revenues to rising demand from the French, Japanese, South Korean, Taiwanese and Australian markets.

The industry now aims to export over 9 percent more seafood annually between now and 2010, with export revenues targeted to reach $4-4.5 billion by 2010.

It has set itself an export target of $3.6 billion this year 2007. (Thanh Nien, Nguoi Lao dong)