Major consumers of Vietnamese Tra fish include China, the US, EU, ASEAN, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

During the seven-month period,the UAE surpassed  Saudi Arabia to be among top 8 importers of Vietnamese tra fish.

Last year, the UAE was the third largest importer of Vietnamese tra fish in the Middle East market with a value of US$23 million, down 13.2% when compared to the previous year. However, Vietnam’s tra fish exports to the UAE reversed with a sharp upturn in export value from 28% to 66.3% in the first two months of this year.

As of March 2018, the export value of tra fish increased sharply from 117% to 221%overthe same period last year.

The strong growth in tra fish exports to the UAE was attributed to the Saudi Food & Drug Authority (SFDA)’s issuance of a decree to temporarily suspend imports of fish, crustacean and other aquatic products from Vietnam.

The temporary suspension was based on the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)’s "Quarterly Aquatic Animal Disease Report (Asia-Pacific Region) April - June 2017", and the outcomes of the working visit to Vietnam by SFDA in late 2017.