February 14, 2012

Italy's Vietnamese seafood imports increase

Italy has become a major importer of Vietnamese seafood among nations like US, Japan and China after achieving import value increase from US$95 million to over US$150 million per year, according to VASEP.

VASEP states that in the first 10 months of 2011, Italy imported mainly squid and octopus, pangasius, shrimp, marine finfish and clam from Vietnam.

Italy is the third largest cephalopod importer from Vietnam after South Korea and Japan. In the past decade, Vietnamese cephalopod exports to Italy witnessed a gradual growth and hit record levels of about US$71 million in 2008, followed by a decline in 2009 because of economic slowdown.

In 2010, Vietnamese cephalopod shipment to Italy recovered and hit US$63.4 million, up 31.2% over that of 2009. In the first 10 months of 2011, Italy imported US$68.5 million of Vietnamese ephalopod.

According to overall outlook, Italy is a potential importer of cephalopod products from Vietnam. Pangasius fillet is the second main item exported to Italy from Vietnam. In 2008, pangasius fillet export to the market achieved a record of US$41 million. The figure marked a decline in 2009 due to economic downturn.

However, the figure recovered and in the first 10 months of 2011, the fish exports reached US$31 million, higher than that of 2010. Although consuming demand of pangasius in Italy is lower than that of other members in EU block, pangasius still remains its position in Italian market because the fish has competitive price and can replace white meat fish such as perch and sea bass.

Moreover, Italians prefer pangasius. In future, it is expected that pangasius fillet product will be consumed sharply in Italian market despite Europe's financial crisis.

Frozen shrimp in all varieties is the third main item exported to Italy from Vietnam. Although export value is low, shrimp exports to Italy reported a sharp growth in recent years. In the January-October period of 2011, Vietnamese shrimp shipment to Italy reached nearly US$19.2 million, representing a comparative growth on 2010. Along with three main items, Italy also imported many other marine finfish from Vietnam, including tuna with the value of US$15-20 million per year.