March 18, 2016 

 

 

 

The average price of shrimp imported into EU in 2015 (US$/MT)
Suppliers	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct
Ecuador	7,214	7,206	7,381	7,272	7,356	6,681	6,274	6,518	6,473	7,920
Vietnam	10,516	10,325	10,206	10,244	10,785	10,470	9,527	10,317	9,897	10,106
India	8,132	8,530	8,017	8,451	8,727	8,263	7,913	8,037	8,052	7,920
Bangladesh	12,166	12,237	11,407	12,200	11,831	10,732	9,741	9,988	10,344	11,605
China	5,909	6,778	6,522	5,701	5,933	5,773	5,572	5,893	5,647	5,772
Indonesia	11,572	11,771	10,750	10,766	11,260	11,240	10,674	9,989	10,710	10,492
Thailand	12,425	13,179	13,429	12,577	13,698	13,436	11,905	12,282	11,566	12,020

 

 

 

Vietnam's shrimp exports to the EU in 2015 reached US$548.6 million, down 19.7% year-on-year, as consumers tightened spending due to economic troubles, the euro devaluated against the US dollar and import shrimp prices into the market were asked to be lowered by European importers.

 

Vietnam's shrimp exports to the EU in 2015 showed positive growth in January, but subsequently the other months of the year saw year-on- year decreases. Shrimp exports to the market hit the highest value of US$63 million in October 2015 due to festivals.

 

In 2015, among three main importing markets of Vietnamese shrimp in the EU bloc, the UK was the only market that recorded positive growth of 13.4% compared with 2014 due to higher demand for warm-water shrimp as opposed to the higher-priced cold-water shrimp whose supply was low. Vietnamese shrimp exports to Germany and the Netherlands showed decreases of 21.5% and 27.3%, respectively.

 

According to the UK's retailers, warm-water shrimp sales on Christmas 2015 climbed up to 28.1million British pounds (US$39.62 million), an increase of 4.3% compared with 2014, and from 25.5 million in 2013.

 

The value and volume of warm-water shrimp in the UK's retail stores recovered in 2015 (52 weeks ended on Jan. 2, 2016), going up 7.5% to GBP220.5 million ($311 million) in terms of value and a 6.9% rise in volume to 13,394 metric tonnes.

 

In 2014, Vietnam's white-leg shrimp sales to Germany accounted for 58% while black tiger shrimp sales took 34.7%. In January-September 2015, the proportion of white-leg shrimp went up to 73.5% while that of black tiger shrimp decreased at 19.9%. This trend showed that white-leg shrimp from Vietnam is increasingly being favoured in Germany. Between 2011 and 2014, Germany took the lead in the EU bloc in importing shrimp from Vietnam. In 2014, shrimp exports to the German market accounted for 20.5% of the total shrimp exports by Vietnam to the EU.

 

With advantage in producing value-added products, Vietnamese shrimp exporters have opportunities for raising its market share in the EU market because the market has high demand for ready-to-eat shrimp, cooked shrimp and finger food.

 

Due to its weakened currency, Europe is not benefiting from the drop in shrimp prices. In early 2016, however, orders from European buyers are expected to increase as they restock their inventories. Demand from the market is focused on middle and smaller sizes due to high prices for larger sizes.

 

In the EU market, Ecuador is the main competitor of Vietnam. The free trade agreement between Ecuador and the EU is expected to come into force by October 2016. Ecuador should be the beneficiary in the EU increasing the allowance of raw, farmed shrimp at 0% duty from 30,000 metric tonnes to 40,000 metric tonnes. The EU's Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) has been extended until the trade deal is put into effect or through by Dec. 31 2016. This means Ecuadorian shrimp exporters will continue to enjoy a 3.6% tariff on frozen, uncooked shrimp after the 0% quota on 20,000 metric tonnes is exceeded, instead of a 12% tariff.