Vietnam consumes 120 tons of Canadian lobsters a year

Vietnam imported nearly 120 tons of lobster last year and 74 tons since early this year from Canada, said a representative from the Animal Health Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The country has imported fresh and frozen lobsters from Canada since 2014. Only products which meet requirements of quarantine and get import certificates can be sold on the market.

The fresh lobsters are checked and granted export quarantine certificates by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency before being shipped to Vietnam. Upon arrival, they are checked and kept in quarantine by Vietnam animal health agencies. The healthy shrimps will be certified and sold in the market.

According to the Department of Animal Health fresh lobster imports from Canada have increased from nearly 3 tons in 2014 to nearly 9 tons in 2015. Moreover in 2015, Vietnam imported more than 23 tons of frozen lobster from Canada.

Currently, Canada fresh lobsters are sold on the market at very cheap prices, equal to one-third of the prices of domestic products. Canadian lobsters are much favoured by Vietnamese customers thanks to their delicious taste and cheap prices.