HANOI, Nov. 3 -- Vietnam's catfish exports to Chinese mainland and China's Hong Kong in the first nine months of 2016 hit 201.9 million U.S. dollars, up 75.6 percent year-on-year.

With such figure, Chinese mainland and China's Hong Kong have surpassed the European Union(EU) to become Vietnam's second largest catfish market for the first time, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) confirmed on Thursday.

The strong exports to China was recorded in the context that Vietnamese catfish exporters are facing multiple difficulties in other major markets like the United States, the EU, ASEANand Mexico.

In the January-September period, Vietnam's catfish exports to the EU and Mexico went down by 6.9 percent and 14.3 percent year-on-year.