Myanmsr exported 352,652 tons of marine products, hitting 561 million US dollars in the fiscal year of 2007-08 which ended in March, the local Weekly Eleven News quoted the fishery department as reporting Monday.

The figures was up from 2006-07’s 234 million dollars but stood less against 2007-08’s target which was set at 750 million dollars.

The fishery authorities have projected to raise the export earning to 850 million dollars in the present fiscal year of 2008-09.

The report claimed that China topped Myanmar’s marine export countries, followed by Thailand, Japan and Singapore.

According to official statistics, Myanmar’s fishery sector stood the fourth largest contributor to the gross domestic product and also the fourth largest source of foreign exchange earning in the past five years.

Meanwhile, Myanmar is cooperating with a regional organization of the Southeast Asia Fisheries Development Centre (SEAFDEC) in conducting survey of marine resources in the country’s waters, focusing species with commercial potential, local media said.

With a long coastline of over 2,800 km and a total area of 500, 000 hectares of swamps along the coast, the country has an estimated sustainable yield of marine products at over one million tons a year.