Vietnam’s seafood production is up thus far in 2020 compared to 2019, but the value of its seafood exports has dropped in many markets, according to data from the country’s fisheries and customs departments.
The country produced 7.7 million metric tons (MT) of seafood between January and November, up 1.6 percent year-on-year, including 4.2 million MT from aquaculture and 3.5 million MT from wild-catch fisheries, the General Department of Fisheries said earlier this month.
The production of shrimp in the period was 790,564 MT, comprising 536,182 MT of vannamei and 254,382 MT of black tiger shrimp. Shrimp was cultured on 725,900 hectares of farms across the country, including 109,093 hectares of vannamei farms and 616,807 hectares of black tiger shrimp farms.
Vietnam’s total pangasius production in the first 11 months was 900,429 MT, down 16.3 percent from the same period in 2019, as many farmers refrained from seeding due to prolonged low prices. Farmers have already harvested an area of 2,813 hectares out of the country’s total pangasius farming area of 5,485 hectares.
Meanwhile, sales of seafood from Vietnam to many markets slowed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The country earned USD 742.2 million (EUR 610.7 million) from seafood exports in November, 2.9 percent lower year-on-year, latest customs data showed.
In the first 11 months of 2020, Vietnam exported seafood worth USD 7.68 billion (EUR 6.32 billion), down 1.7 percent from the same period in 2019. So far this year, the U.S. is Vietnam’s top buyer, purchasing USD 1.49 billion (EUR 1.23 billion) worth of seafood, up 10.4 percent year-on-year. Japan is the country’s second-largest buyer, purchasing USD 1.3 billion (EUR 1.07 billion) worth of Vietnamese seafood, down 3.7 percent. China was third with USD 1.10 billion (EUR 905 million) of purchases, a decline of 0.9 percent. South Korea ranked fourth with USD 700.5 million (EUR 576.4 million) of purchases, down 1.7 percent. The United Kingdom was fifth, buying USD 322.2 million (EUR 265 million) of Vietnam’s seafood, an increase of 24.1 percent. Canada ranked sixth with USD 241.6 million (EUR 198.8 million) of purchases, up 15.9 percent; and Thailand was seventh with USD 227.7 million (EUR 187.4 million) of buying, down 16.3 percent from last year.
Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said 8 December that the country’s seafood export value will be flat at USD 8.58 billion (EUR 7.06 billion) in 2020, falling short of its target of USD 10 billion.
Photo courtesy of Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers
