December 6, 2022

Vietnam seafood approaches historic milestone of US$10 billion in exports

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said the country is approaching the historic milestone of US$10 billion worth in exports in a year, Fish Information & Services reported.

Vietnam's seafood exports reached over US$9.4 billion as of the end of October 2022, 33% higher over the same period in 2021. Export turnover of key sectors also recorded double-digit growth compared to the same period last year.

The pangasius industry has become one of the country's primary export products, accounting for nearly 23% of total shipments, thanks to an impressive growth of 77% and the US$2.1 billion in sales over the past 10 months.

In contrast, only 17% of all seafood exports during the same period in 2021 were pangasius. Pangasius saw the largest increase in export prices, up 50% during the same period. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is to blame for the whitefish shortage and has given Vietnam's pangasius the chance to gain market share. These are the two main causes of the sharp rise in pangasius exports.

Vietnam's shrimp industry saw an increase of 18% and an export value of nearly US$3.8 billion. In the first five months of the year, shrimp exports rose significantly. After that, they slowed down and even decreased over the following few months. Due to a decrease in market demand and a shortage of domestic raw materials in the second half of the year, shrimp exports declined. Due to competition from India and Ecuador, the average price of exported shrimp did not rise as quickly as that of pangasius.

In 2022, tuna exports will undoubtedly set a new high of US$1 billion. By the end of October, this industry had generated US$884 million, an increase of 49%, and was responsible for 9.4% of all seafood exports, up from 8.4% in the same period last year.

Because of the record-high inflation and a decline in demand for seafood, exports slowed down in the second half of the year, particularly from the fourth quarter. With sharp increases in the price of energy and food, many markets are experiencing 40-year record inflation. Low-income consumers in some nations, like the UK, are even forced to skip meals.

If results continue to be favourable through the third quarter, seafood exports from Vietnam will still reach a record high of almost US$11 billion in 2022.

-      Fish Information & Services