November 20, 2018

EU is biggest buyer of Vietnam shrimp in first 3 quarters

The EU is the largest export market of Vietnamese shrimp, accounting for 24.7% of Vietnam's total shrimp exports, based on latest data, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

In the nine months through September, Vietnam's shrimp exports to the EU market reached US$648.4 million, up 11% over the same period in 2017.

Within the EU, the UK is the largest importer of Vietnamese shrimp, whose shrimp exports to the UK in the first nine months reached nearly $176 million, up 27.6% year-on-year.

Over the past three years, Vietnamese shrimp exports to the UK have grown steadily from $114.6 million in 2014 to $210.6 million in 2017, up nearly 84%.

The Netherlands, meanwhile, is the second-largest export market of Vietnamese shrimp in the EU. From January to September, shrimp exports to the Netherlands reached $158.6 million, up 11.6% year-on-year. Vietnam was the largest supplier of shrimp to the Netherlands, accounting for 37.6% of the total value of imports by this market in 2017.

VASEP claimed that Vietnamese shrimp has a competitive advantage over other major competitors in the EU market, including India and Thailand, noting that these countries have seen reducted exports to the EU due to problems related to quality standards.

Moreover, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, which is expected to come into effect next year, will allow Vietnam to import shrimp and processed shrimp tariff-less, VASEP added.