Vietnam has boosted exports of tuna to Mexico to benefit from the preferential taxes under a free trade agreement joined by the two countries.
Vietnam exported tuna products worth USD 12 million (EUR 10.9 million) to Mexico in the first nine months of this year, a rise of 55 percent year-on-year, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) earlier this week.
Vietnam’ National Assembly approved the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Trade (CPTPP) on 12 November; the measure became effective on 14 January this year. The pact already came into force on 30 December, 2018, for Mexico and several other members.
Under the agreement, frozen tuna loin – the major tuna product from the Southeast Asian nation – exported to Mexico will see its taxes reduced to 13 percent in 2019, down from 20 percent previously. The tax will decrease to 6.6 percent in 2020 and be removed beginning 1 January, 2021.
VASEP said Vietnam is currently the biggest supplier of frozen tuna loins to Mexico. The lower import tax will give Vietnam an advantage against other Asian competitors including Indonesia, China ,and the Philippines, whose similar products face import taxes of 15 percent.
Mexico has increased its tuna imports to meet rising demand of domestic processing plants as its catch of the species have decreased recently, VASEP said, adding that Mexico only exports small volumes of its processed tuna, with the majority of it consumed domestically.
Beside Mexico, the CPTPP already took effect on 30 December last year for Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and Singapore – the first five signatories, along with Mexico, which had ratified the pact last year. The CPTPP also includes Vietnam, Peru, Chile, Brunei, and Malaysia.
Vietnam exported tuna worth USD 547 million (EUR 497.4 million) between January and September this year, up 15.4 percent year-on-year, mainly to the United States, the European Union, ASEAN, and Japan.
Photo courtesy of Toan Dao/SeafoodSource
