WELLINGTON, June 14 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's export earnings from seafood are on the rise, with aquaculture leading the way, Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash said on Thursday.

The Ministry for Primary Industries' Situation and Outlook report for June 2018 predicts New Zealand's seafood export earnings will grow from 1.8 billion NZ dollars (1.3 billion U.S. dollars) to 2.1 billion NZ dollars by June 2022, Nash said.

"We expect to see higher prices as a result of more people wanting to eat fish and reduced global supply due to China's plans to reduce its catch," Nash said in a statement.

"Aquaculture is set to be the main driver for the forecast growth, thanks largely to increased mussel harvests, and higher prices as demand continues to grow in key markets," Nash said, adding they expect hatchery-bred spat to be a boon for mussel production.

"We are also seeing salmon production increasing with three new farms operating in the Marlborough Sounds," he said.

Aquaculture export earnings are forecast to reach 430 million NZ dollars this year and reach nearly 600 million NZ dollars in 2022. Export earnings for New Zealand's wild capture fish products are expected to reach 1.4 billion NZ dollars this year and climb to 1.5 billion NZ dollars in 2022, statistics show. (1 NZ dollar equals to 0.7 U.S. dollar)?