Vietnam increased its seafood exports in January, with increased sales to most major markets excluding China.
For the month, Vietnam exported seafood products worth USD 611.2 million (EUR 507.2 million), up 21.8 percent from USD 501.8 million (EUR 416.4 million) in January 2020, according to data from Vietnam Customs on 8 February.
Japan became the largest buyer of seafood from Vietnam in January, with sales value of USD 112.2 million (EUR 93.1 million), 26.5 percent higher year-on-year. It was followed by the U.S., with USD 109.8 million (EUR 91.1 million), with sales up 26.6 percent from a year earlier; and South Korea, with USD 60.6 million (EUR 50.3 million), up 20.2 percent year-on-year.
The U.K., where Vietnam has increased its shrimp and pangasius sales over the past year, bought USD 19.7 million (EUR 16.3 million) worth of Vietam's seafood in January, up 18 percent from the same month in 2020.
Meanwhile, sales to China fell 12.3 percent year-on-year in the month to USD 38.4 million (EUR 32 million).
China was Vietnam’s third-largest buyer of seafood last year, a decline from its top spot in 2019. Strict measures imposed by Chinese authorities on import cargoes to avoid any potential transmission of the coronavirus caused delays in the delivery of seafood shipments from Vietnam, especially in the closing months of 2020.
Separately, Vietnam’s seafood production remained stable in January despite the pandemic. The country produced an estimated 497,900 metric tons (MT) of seafood in January, up 1.8 percent year-on-year. Of the total, 252,500 MT was from aquaculture, up 1 percent year-on-year; and 245,400 MT was from capture fisheries, 2.5 percent higher than January 2020; data from the General Statistics Office showed.
Photo courtesy of Toan Dao/SeafoodSource
