Vietnam will cooperate with three other Southeast Asian countries, namely Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore to set up a warning system for food safety and hygiene, local daily Vietnam News reported Friday.

The daily quoted Vietnamese Fishery Minister Ta Quang Ngoc as saying that the system will provide member countries a forum to timely share database on potential risks, and provide customers with updated information about food hygiene and safety.

The minister added that the ministry has actively conducted inspection on seafood safety and hygiene nationwide.

It has also asked local seafood producers to improve quality oftheir products, and intensify inspection on antibiotic residues in them, Ngoc noted.

Vietnam reaped roughly US$2.2 billion rom exporting seafood, mainly to China, the United States, the European Union and Japan, in the first 10 months of this year, a year-on-year rise of nearly 12.4 percent, according to the country's General Statistics Office.

The country has targeted seafood export revenue for US$2.6 billion in 2005 and US$4 billion in 2010, up from US$ 2.4 billion in 2004.

(Xinhua News Agency November 11, 2005)