Vietnam’s shrimp exports are up overall, but China and South Korea have curtailed their purchases, according to data from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) released on 26 May.
Vietnam shipped USD 961.9 million (EUR 785.6 million) worth of shrimp abroad between January and April, up 10.2 percent year-on-year.
Vietnam placed fourth in its shrimp shipments to the U.S. in April, after India, Ecuador, and Indonesia. Its U.S. shrimp sales rose 24.8 percent year-on-year to USD 198 million (EUR 161.7 million) in the first four months of 2021. VASEP attributed the increase in demand in the U.S. to the recovery of the economy following a successful vaccination program rollout.
Sales to the European Union also beat negative forecasts by industry experts, shooting up 18.5 percent year-on-year to USD 145.7 million (EUR 119 million) between January and April. The E.U. bought nearly USD 50 million (EUR 40.8 million) of Vietnam’s shrimp in April, up 45.2 percent year-on-year.
Combined sales to Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) markets sailed up 7.6 percent year-on-year to USD 297.2 million (EUR 242.7 million) in the first four months of 2021. The CPTPP includes Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Mexico, Vietnam, Peru, Chile, Brunei, and Malaysia. The pact became effective for Vietnam in January 2019. Japan increased its purchases of Vietnam’s shrimp by 6 percent to USD 177.9 million (EUR 145.3 million). Sales to Australia also grew 65.5 percent in the period, with an astounding 177.4 percent increase year-on-year in April alone.
However, Vietnam’s shrimp sales to South Korea and China (including Hong Kong) dropped during the first four months of 2021. Vietnam exported shrimp worth USD 98.5 million (EUR 80.4 million) to South Korea and USD 98 million (EUR 80 million) to China in the period, down 0.7 percent and 9.8 percent, respectively.
Minh Phu Ca Mau was the largest exporter of shrimp between January and April with sales worth USD 86.9 million (EUR 70.9 million), down slightly 0.3 percent year-on-year, followed by Stapimex with USD 81.5 million (EUR 66.6 million), up 14.9 percent year-on-year, and Minh Phu Hau Giang with USD 64.9 million (EUR 52.9 million), 27.7 percent higher year-on-year, according to VASEP.
Only three out of the top 10 biggest shrimp exporters in Vietnam experienced a drop in their export values in the first four months of 2021, according to VASEP, with the remainder increase their overall sales.
Photo courtesy of Nguyen Quang Ngoc Tonkin/Shutterstock
