Vietnam was estimated to have exported seafood products worth USD 3.95 billion (EUR 3.52 billion) in the first half of this year – down nearly 1 percent year-on-year – as exports of shrimp and pangasius decreased, Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said in a statement on Monday, 8 July.
The country was estimated to have exported shrimp worth USD 1.45 billion (EUR 1.29 billion) between January and June, down 11 percent from last year.
In the first five months, Vietnam gained USD 1.1 billion (EUR 988.6 million) from shrimp exports, declining 13.6 percent year-on-year. Of that total, USD 752 million (EUR 670.4 million) was from exports of whiteleg shrimp and USD 270 million (EUR 240.7 million) was from exports of black tiger shrimp – both down 15 percent year-on-year.
Pangasius, another core species of Vietnam, saw an estimated decrease of 0.7 percent to USD 995 million (EUR 887 million) in the first six months of 2019. The export value of pangasius in the first five months of the year also fell 1 percent year-on-year to nearly USD 790 million (EUR 704.3 million), according to VASEP.
From January to June, Vietnam was estimated to have exported squid and octopus worth USD 297 million (EUR 264.8 million), a slight decrease of 0.3 percent.
The exports of tuna, however, rose 20 percent to USD 362 million (EUR 322.7 million) and the export value of other marine fish species increased 15 percent to USD 753 million (EUR 671.1 million).
It is forecasted that Vietnam’s exports of seafood products in the second half of this year will reach more than USD 5 billion (EUR 4.46 billion), driving the estimated export value for the whole year to about USD 9 billion (EUR 8.03 billion).
Exports of seafood from Vietnam to the E.U. might increase in the last six months, supported by the free trade agreement signed in Hanoi on 30 June. The “yellow card” imposed by the bloc on Vietnam in 2017, however, might lower the growth of exports to the E.U. during the upcoming period.
Vietnam’s exports of seafood to China are expected to slightly fall from June to December due to the increase of inspection by Chinese authorities for seafood flows through land border gates from Vietnam. But VASEP hopes the exports to Japan and the United States will go up, especially for shrimp products.
