Vietnam was able to maintain the growth of its seafood exports in July despite a huge outbreak of COVID-19 in the Southeast Asian nation.
The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) projected earlier this month that Vietnam’s seafood export value in July would decrease by about 4 percent year-on-year to USD 763 million (EUR 649.4 million), in part due to strict COVID-19 related lockdowns imposed in Ho Chi Minh City – Vietnam’s main gateway for seafood exports – and the Mekong Delta, the country’s primary region for seafood production in the months through August.
However, the latest preliminary data from Vietnam Customs showed the country’s seafood export value in July surged 7.9 percent year-on-year to USD 853.8 million (EUR 726.7 million), the fifth month in a row of increases.
The U.S. remained the biggest buyer of seafood from Vietnam in value in the month, purchasing products worth USD 236.6 million (EUR 201.4 million), rising 28.4 percent year-on-year. It was followed by Japan with USD 122 million (EUR 103.8 million), up 2.9 percent from the same month last year; China (excluding Hong Kong) with USD 84 million (EUR 71.5 million), down 23.1 percent year-on-year; and South Korea with USD 71.7 million (EUR 61 million), up 1 percent.
Seafood exports from Vietnam to China have declined this year due to China tightening its monitoring of seafood imports it claims may contain traces of the coronavirus.
Vietnam’s seafood export value in the first seven months also grew 13.2 percent to USD 4.98 billion (EUR 4.24 billion).
The U.S. led all countries in its seafood imports from Vietnam, taking in USD 1.14 billion (EUR 970.3 million) worth of products, up 36 percent year-on-year. Japan was second with USD 802.3 million (EUR 682.9 million), up 1.3 percent year-on-year; China was third with USD 521.9 million (EUR 444.2 million), a drop of 10.7 percent; and South Korea was fourth with USD 438 million (EUR 372.8 million) in purchases, up 3.7 percent year-on-year.
The U.K. took in USD 184.6 million (EUR 157 million) worth of Vietnamese seafood, up 1.7 percent year-on-year. Thailand bought USD 153.5 million (EUR 130.6 million) of seafood from Vietnam, an increase of 19.9 percent from January-July last year. Australia was next, with USD 151.8 million (EUR 129.2 million), up 53.2 percent year-on-year; and Canada followed with USD 151.4 million (EUR 128.9 million), 16.6 percent higher year-on-year, the data showed.
Photo courtesy of VASEP
