Vietnam saw its exports of seafood decline 25 percent year-on-year to USD 556 million (EUR 509.4 million) in the first month of this year, due mainly to the Lunar New Year's holiday from 23 to 29 January, according to Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
Of the total, the export value of pangasius in the month fell 64 percent year-on-year to USD 75 million (EUR 68.7 million).
In January, the export value of marine seafood also decreased 22 percent from a year earlier to USD 230 million (EUR 210.7 million), with tuna exports falling 30 percent to USD 40 million (EUR 36.6 million) in value and squid and octopus exports dropping 50 percent to USD 33 million (EUR 30.2 million).
The exports of shrimp in the month, however, rose 7 percent year-on-year to USD 251 million (EUR 230 million), VASEP said.
Exports to the European Union increased 13 percent year-on-year to USD 127 million (EUR 116.4 million) in value, but sales to most other major markets declined. Exports to the United States were worth USD 75 million (EUR 68.7 million), down 36 percent. Seafood sent by Vietnam to Japan was valued at USD 98 million (EUR 89.8 million), down 20 percent; and exports to China (including Hong Kong) were worth USD 51.5 million (EUR 47.2 million), down 45 percent.
VASEP said it expected seafood exports will be hit hard in February due to disruption of trade to China caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The epidemic is also affecting the seafood trade flow between Vietnam and other countries besides China, it said.
The shutdown of land-border gates between Vietnam and China and the resulting restrictions of trade will cause a decline of Vietnam’s export value to China in the first three months of 2020, VASEP said. It added that exports through ocean shipping to China are also experiencing difficulties. VASEP predicted seafood exports from Vietnam to China will fall by at least 40 percent from the last quarter of 2019 to USD 265 million (EUR 242.8 million) for the January-March period.
Assuming the spread of the disease is wrangled under control by the end of the first quarter of 2020, VASEP said it predicted exports will recover in the remainder of the year, with the value of Vietnam's exports to to China reaching USD 1.5 billion (EUR 1.4 billion) in 2020, up 5 percent from 2019. In a worst-case scenario, in which the coronavirus outbreak lasts until August, exports to China are expected to drop 6 percent to USD 1.33 billion (EUR 1.22 billion) this year, VASEP said.
Photo courtesy of Huy Thoai/Shutterstock
