HANOI, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam will intensify export of tra fish to China, the biggest market for the common kind of Vietnamese catfish, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) on Thursday.

China's recent reduction of tariffs on many kinds of aquatic products from members of the World Trade Organization will create favorable conditions for Vietnamese firms to export more fresh and frozen tra fish as well as tra fish fillets to China, VASEP said, adding the firms can strengthen export of added-value products to the neighbor country because the fish can be used for hundreds of recipes.

Between January and mid-May, Vietnam earned 174.2 million U.S. dollars from exporting tra fish to China, VASEP said, noting that the fish export to the neighbor country have annually increased between 21 percent and 35 percent in the last five years.

Chinese demand for tra fish for domestic consumption, especially at hotels, restaurants, schools and enterprises, has surged recently, so Vietnamese companies are intensifying tra fish export to China through border trade, many local entrepreneurs said.

Vietnam reaped nearly 4 billion U.S. dollars from exporting seafood to different countries in the world in the first half of this year, posting a year-on-year rise of 11 percent, said VASEP.

Last year, Vietnam earned over 3.8 billion U.S. dollars from exporting prawns and shrimps, up 21.5 percent.