Aquatic exports spike 40% in first half

Vietnam’s aquatic exports grew 40% year-on-year to reach nearly $5.8 billion in the first half of the year, Vietnamese Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) reported.

The country earned more than $3.2 billion from aquatic exports in the second quarter of 2022, an increase of 36% from the same period last year.

According to VASEP, shipments of shrimp picked up 7% - a quite modest pace - to a total $450 million as a result of input shortages. Though, the sector experienced a strong growth of 33% in the first half to bring home $2.3 billion, accounting for 40% of the total seafood exports.

Several producers have increased the shipments of high value-added processed shrimp products, instead of raw ones, to major markets like Japan, the U.S. and the EU as a way to address input shortages.

Exports of lobster posted a record-high 30-fold surge year-on-year to $130 million.

High inflation coupled with the Russia-Ukraine crisis have brought big opportunity for tra fish (pangasius) from Vietnam this year.

Sanctions on imports of Russian-caught whitefish in response to its conflict with Ukraine have caused severe shortages on the global market, especially the EU, the U.S. and the UK, whose imports mainly sourced from Russia, according to Le Hang, director of the VASEP Training and Trade Promotion Centre.

Many restaurants in these countries have had to exclude whitefish, like cod, from their menus and seek for alternatives. Thanks to that, Vietnamese tra fish had opportunities to gain a larger market share after months of struggle, she added.

In June, Vietnam exported close to $220 million worth of tra fish, up 54% year-on-year. The figure soared 83% in H1 to hit $1.4 billion, representing one-fourth of the total exports. Shipments to the UK enjoyed an exaggerate six-fold rise from the same period last year, followed by Spain (three-fold increase).

The tuna sector earned some $553 million in export turnover during the period, up 56% year-on-year. The U.S. remained Vietnam’s largest buyer of tuna that imported over half of the Vietnamese shipments.

VASEP anticipated that aquatic exports will be likely to reach $10 billion this year, up about 12% from 2021.