Canada’s seafood exports to Vietnam have risen this year, with suppliers from the province of Nova Scotia heavily driving that growth as they seek to expand sales in the Southeast Asian market.
Canada exported seafood worth USD 43.2 million (EUR 37.3 million) to Vietnam over the first eight months of 2026, which was up 28.2 percent year over year. This comes as Canadian seafood shipments to Vietnam have grown steadily in recent years, surging from USD 44 million (EUR 38 million) in 2023 to USD 49 million (EUR 42.3 million) in 2024 and then USD 61 million (EUR 52.7 million) last year, VnExpress reported, citing Vietnam Customs data.
Seafood businesses from Nova Scotia in particular, which is Canada's leading seafood-exporting province, are looking for additional opportunities in Vietnam.
Vietnam is now Nova Scotia's seventh-largest seafood export market, Nova Scotia Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Jason Hollett told VnExpress during a visit to Vietnam with a delegation of Canadian seafood businesses in September.
Snow crab was Nova Scotia's largest seafood export to Vietnam last year, with shipments valued at about CAD 35 million (USD 25.3 million, EUR 21.8 million), while lobster exports were worth around CAD 8 million (USD 5.8 million, EUR 5 million).
This has led to Canadian snow crab, lobster, and oysters becoming increasingly available at seafood retail stores in Vietnam, with importers pointing to competitive prices as one factor supporting demand.
Canadian lobster weighing 500 to 600 grams sells for around VND 950,000 to VND 1.1 million (USD 36.60 to USD 42.40, EUR 31.60 to EUR 36.70) per kilogram in Vietnam, while lobster weighing at least 1 kilogram was priced at about VND 1.3 million to VND 1.4 million (USD 50 to USD 53.9, EUR 43.3 to EUR 46.7) per kilogram, according to VnExpress.
That compares with around VND 3.5 million (USD 134.80, EUR 116.70) per kilogram for Australian lobster and VND 1.5 million (USD 57.80, EUR 50) for domestically farmed tropical rock lobster.
Trade preferences are also supporting access to the market.
Under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), most Canadian fish and seafood products gained duty-free access to Vietnam when the agreement entered into force, while remaining tariffs are being phased out over periods of up to 15 years, according to the Canadian government.
The CPTPP entered into force for Vietnam on 14 January 2019. Nearly 83 percent of the country's tariff lines on Canadian fish and seafood became duty-free upon entry into force, with tariffs on the remaining products being phased out.
Meanwhile, Nova Scotia launched a new seafood sector strategy in June covering the 2026-29 period, with market and product diversification among its four main pillars.
