October 10, 2013

Vietnam's Q3 2013 seafood exports up 12.5% on-year

In the third quarter of this year, Vietnam's seafood exports reached US$1.8 billion, an increase of 12.5% over the same period last year.

Shrimp exports continuously grew from the second quarter, while pangasius exports slowed in the third quarter, the export of tuna and other marine products continues downward trend from the previous quarters.

In the first three quarters of 2013, total Vietnam seafood exports reached US$4.7 billion, up 4.5% from the same period last year. Thanks to the increase in export prices in the context of shorted supply in the world markets, Vietnam shrimp exports in each month of third quarter grew 45.5% - 65.5% compared with the same period last year.

Whiteleg shrimp (vannamei) holds an increasingly important position, with the proportion rising sharply from 33% of total shrimp export value last year to 46.17% this year, roughly equivalent to that of black tiger shrimp (46.74%).

While shrimp exports have been increasing and will keep the trend in the coming months, the pangasius tended to decrease from the third quarter (- 1.4% in July; -7.7% in August) and it's not likely to have recovery in the coming months due to difficulties in domestic production.

In recent months, tuna exports continued to post negative growths of over 20%, as this year's tuna exports is estimated to reach US$540 million, down about 5% from last year.