Vietnam saw its tuna export value to Canada and the E.U. surge in July 2022, but sales to the U.S. slowed due to high inflation, according to Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
Vietnam’s exports to Canada in the month were worth USD 6 million (EUR 5.9 million), an increase of 234 percent year-on-year – making it the market with the highest sales growth within the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The CPTPP includes Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Mexico, Vietnam, Peru, Chile, Brunei, and Malaysia.
Sales to Japan, another CPTPP member, also rose in July, but the value of exports to Mexico and Chile declined by 15 percent and 34 percent year-on-year, respectively.
Vietnam's tunaales to the E.U. recovered in July, following the decline in the second quarter, with a value of more than USD 14 million (EUR 13.99 million), up 16 percent from a year earlier. The hike in the month helped raise the total export value in the first seven months to nearly USD 92 million (EUR 91.99 million), 5 percent higher year-on-year.
Within the E.U., sales to Belgium and the Netherlands went up 130 percent and 1 percent year-on-year, respectively, while the value of tuna exports to Germany fell.
VASEP said the increase of food prices due to rising energy prices in Europe and the devaluation of the euro against U.S. dollar are worrying Vietnamese exporters shipping products to the E.U.
Meanwhile, exports to the U.S., Vietnam’s largest market for tuna products, still rose in July – but the growth rate halved compared to June this year. The value for the month was at USD 38 million (EUR 37.99 million), up 34 percent year-on-year, driving sales between January andJuly to grow by 86 percent year-on-year to USD 399 million (EUR 398.8 million).
Since the beginning of the summer, consumers in the U.S. bought more lower-priced tuna products as a result of rising food prices due to high inflation. As a result, demand for processed and canned tuna has risen in the last three months. However, continued inflation is expected to dampen U.S. tuna sales in the coming months, VASEP said.
In total, Vietnam shipped tuna worth USD 85 million (EUR 84.97 million) in July, up 32 percent from the same month last year. Its sales value in the first seven months increased 52 percent to USD 638 million (EUR 637.8 million).
Vietnam’s tuna export value in 2021 was at USD 759 million (EUR 758.7 million), up 17 percent year-on-year, with the U.S., the E.U., and the CPTPP members being the country's top buyers.
Photo courtesy of Toan Dao/SeafoodSource
