Vietnam’s seafood exports were at an all-time high in the first quarter of 2022, primarily due to a surge in shrimp and pangasius prices.
Vietnam’s seafood exports hit USD 2.5 billion (EUR 2.3 billion) in the first three months of 2022, up 45 percent year-over-year and reaching an all-time high, according to data from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
That total included USD 955 million (EUR 890.2 million) in shrimp exports, USD 654 million (EUR 609.6 million) in pangasius exports, and USD 259 million (EUR 241.4 million) in tuna exports.
In March alone, the export value of Vietnam’s seafood surpassed USD 1 billion (EUR 950 million), up 38.7 percent year-on-year and becoming the highest monthly value in nation’s history.
The U.S. was the largest buyer of Vietnamese seafood, with USD 574.4 million (EUR 535.4 million) in Q1 purchases, 70.9 percent higher year-on-year.
The average export price of pangasius in March rose 70 percent year-on-year to USD 4.62 (EUR 4.30) per kilogram. The average export price of shrimp to the U.S. grew 20 percent to USD 12.00 (EUR 11.20) per kilogram. And the average export price of tuna rose 17 percent to USD 10.20 (EUR 9.50) per kilogram in Q1.
Vietnam’s seafood sales to Japan lifted 12.9 percent year-on-year to USD 347.2 million (EUR 323.6 million), and sales to China rose 104 percent to USD 326.7 million (EUR 304.5 million), customs data showed.
Vietnam exported pangasius worth USD 183.4 million (EUR 170.9 million) to China in Q1, up 163 percent from a year earlier. The average export price of pangasius in the period was USD 2.50 (EUR 2.30) per kilogram, up nearly 40 percent from a year ago. The average export price of shrimp also saw an increase of 36 percent year-on-year to USD 8.64 (EUR 8) per kilogram.
Vietnam exported nearly 200,000 metric tons (MT) of seafood to China through 30 ports in China in Q1. However, in March, zero Vietnamese seafood shipments were cleared at Shanghai due to lockdowns to contain the COVID-19 outbreak in the Chinese city.
VASEP said Vietnam is expected to pull in USD 2.9 billion (EUR 2.7 billion) from its seafood exports in Q2, up around 24 percent from the same period last year, thanks to high global demand.
Photo courtesy of Nguyen Quang Ngoc Tonkin/Shutterstock
