Vietnam’s seafood exports declined in September as the country dealt with a serious COVID-19 outbreak.
According to the latest customs data, Vietnam exported seafood worth USD 624.3 million (EUR 537.5 million) in September, down 23.9 percent year-on-year. Its exports of shrimp, pangasius, and tuna all declined in September as the country’s supply chains were knocked off-kilter by the COVID-19 outbreak, which forced many seafood-processing plants to temporarily cease operations or reduce capacity between July and September. The country began lifting its COVID-related restrictions in the second half of September, and its processing and export activities have since begun to recover.
Vietnam exported USD 308.5 million (EUR 265.5 million) of shrimp in September, down 20 percent year-over-year. Its overall seafood exports declined 28 percent in August and were up 4 percent in July.
Vietnam’s September pangasius exports totaled USD 82 million (EUR 70.6 million), down 36.5 percent year-over-year, data from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) showed. Through September, Vietnam’s 2021 pangasius exports reached USD 1.08 billion (EUR 930 million), an increase of 3.2 percent year-on-year. September was also the second month in a row that Vietnam saw its pangasius sales contract, following growth from March through July.
China has been the top buyer of Vietnamese pangasius in 2021, with USD 279 million (EUR 240.2 million) of purchases through September, though that figure is down 19.8 percent year-on-year. In second place was the U.S. with USD 248 million (EUR 213.6 million) in purchases, up 43.4 percent year-on-year. Countries in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) imported USD 144 million (EUR 124 million) of Vietnamese pangasius, down 2.7 percent year-on-year. The E.U.’s Vietnamese pangasius imports declined 20.4 percent to USD 78 million (EUR 67.2 million), dropping 20.4 percent. Brazil was a bright spot, importing USD 45 million (EUR 38.8 million) worth of the product, up 60.7 percent year-over-year.
Vietnam’s September tuna export value also shrank 15 percent year-on-year to USD 51 million (EUR 44 million), declining for the second-consecutive month, as exports to major markets such as the U.S., CPTPP markets, and the E.U. fell. However, the country’s tuna export value was still up 9 percent for the first nine months of 2021 to almost USD 521 million (EUR 448.7 million), thanks to significant growth in the first half of the year.
The U.S. led all countries in its imports of Vietnamese tuna, taking in USD 158 million (EUR 136 million) worth of the product, up 2.6 percent from a year earlier. Japan was second with USD 74.6 million (EUR 64.2 million) in imports, 36.8 percent lower year-on-year; and China was third with USD 67.2 million (EUR 57.8 million) in imports, a drop of 51.4 percent year-on-year.
Vietnam’s overall seafood export value between January and September 2021 was USD 6.19 billion (EUR 5.32 billion), up 2.7 percent year-on-year. The United States led the way with USD 1.45 billion (EUR 1.25 billion) in imports, up 23.7 percent, while Japan was second with USD 953.9 million (EUR 821.4 million) in purchases, down 7.6 percent; and China was third, taking in USD 655 million (EUR 564 million) worth of Vietnamese seafood, down 21.8 percent from the same time-period of 2020.
Photo courtesy of Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers
