Vietnam boosted its exports of shrimp, tuna, and clam to the European Union in 2021, but its pangasius sales continued on a downward trend, according to data shared by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
The Southeast Asia nation shipped seafood products worth more than USD 1 billion (EUR 880 million) to the E.U. in 2021, an increase of 12 percent year-on-year. Of the total, shrimp sales surged nearly 19 percent to USD 613 million (EUR 539.6 million) – mainly to the Netherlands, which upped its purchases by 10 percent year-on-year; Germany, which grew its intake by 25 percent year-on-year; and Belgium, up 19 percent from 2020.
Exports of both vannamei and black tiger shrimp from Vietnam increased to meet higher demand in the E.U. Sales of vannamei to Germany grew 28 percent year-on-year in 2021, while the value of black tiger shrimp exports to the Netherlands jumped 54 percent from 2020.
Exports of tuna to the E.U. also increased 6.4 percent year-on-year, to more than USD 144 million (EUR 126.8 million), with Italy, Germany, and Spain being the top customers.
Exports of clams from Vietnam to the E.U. also increased 42 percent year-on-year to USD 78 million (EUR 68.6 million), making it the fourth-highest species by value after shrimp, tuna, and pangasius. Sales of clams to the three leading markets within the E.U. – Spain, Italy, and Portugal – rose between 38 and 44 percent year-on-year.
In November 2021, Lenger Seafoods Vietnam, a subsidiary of Yerseke, the Netherlands-based Lenger Seafoods Companies, shipped its first canned clam meat to Europe. The company became the first in the world to be granted Aquaculture Stewardship Council certification for its hard clams, raised in Nam Dinh.
However, Vietnam's sales of pangasius to the E.U. dropped by 17 percent in 2021, mainly attributable to freight-rate hikes. The value of pangasius exports to top customers within the E.U. – including the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, and Germany – dropped by between 9 and 43 percent, VASEP said, without providing any export value.
Photo by Toan Dao/SeafoodSource
