Vietnam's seafood export value recovered in August 2022, amid a sharp decline in shipping costs.
The increase in sales has occurred as global freight costs have dropped from all-time highs recorded earlier this year. The cost for sending a container of shrimp from Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City to ports in the U.S. West Coast dropped to around USD 4,200 (EUR 4,140) in early September, down 70 percent from early 2022, while the rate from Vietnam to the U.S. East Coast fell 50 percent to about USD 8,100 (EUR 8,000), according to Vietnam’s leading shrimp exporter, Minh Phu Seafood.
Vietnam exported seafood worth USD 1 billion (EUR 984.8 million) in August, rising 69.3 percent year-on-year and up 6 percent from July. Vietnam’s seafood exports fell to below USD 1 billion in value in July, which experts attributed to rising inflation globally.
Japan was the top buyer of seafood from Vietnam in August, with USD 173.2 million (EUR 170.6 million) in purchases, up 127.9 percent year-on-year.
Despite a recent decrease in the value of Japan’s yen against the U.S. dollar, Vietnamese shrimp exporter Fimex has still boosted its exports to Japan this year due to a focus on the Japanese market and its geographic proximity, which has made logistics and freight pricing less expensive, Fimex (Sao Ta) Chairman Ho Quoc Luc said recently. Luc said Vietnamese shrimp has a competitive advantage in Japan against due to Vietnam’s ability to produce high-quality processed products.
Vietnam’s sales to China (excluding Hong Kong) surged 106.7 percent year-on-year to USD 142.8 million (EUR 140.7 million), and the value of Vietnam’s seafood exports to the U.S. also rose in August, but more modestly – up 1.9 percent to USD 159.5 million (EUR 157.2 million).
Vietnam’s seafood exports to Russia increased for the second-consecutive month in August, reaching USD 23.2 million (EUR 22.9 million), up 90.8 percent year-on-year. In a statement, Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said difficulties in sending cargoes to Russia have been addressed as new shipping routes from Vietnam to Russia have been opened.
Other markets with high growth rates for Vietnamese seafood imports in the month included Germany, which recorded USD 25.9 million (EUR 25.5 million) in purchases, up 140 percent year-on-year; Canada, which reached USD 36.4 million (EUR 36 million) in sales, up 117.1 percent; The Netherlands, with USD 25.2 million (EUR 24.8 million) in sales, up 93.2 percent; and South Korea, with USD 98.5 million (EUR 97.1 million) in sales, 82.6 percent higher year-on-year, according to Vietnamese customs data.
In the first eight months of 2022, Vietnam exported seafood worth USD 7.63 billion (EUR 7.52 billion), up 37.3 percent from the same period last year.
With the exception of Russia, which saw a decline in value in the first eight months largely due to the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine war, Vietnam’s seafood sales to most of its other major markets have grown in 2022.
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