Vietnam boosted sales of its shrimp products to most major markets, but met with disruptions in China due to tightened inspection measures against imported frozen products to contain the COVID-19 outbreak.
According to the latest data from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), Vietnam shipped shrimp worth USD 1.31 billion (EUR 1.1 billion) in the first five months of 2021, 11.8 percent higher year-on-year.
The value of the shrimp exports to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) markets surged 11.8 percent year-on-year to USD 383.4 million (EUR 321.3 million) over January-May. The CPTPP countries include Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Mexico, Vietnam, Peru, Chile, Brunei, and Malaysia. The pact became effective for Vietnam in January 2019.
Japan was the largest market under the CPTPP, purchasing shrimp worth USD 230.7 million (EUR 193.3 million), up 2.3 percent from the same period last year.
Sales to Australia also grew 79.2 percent year-on-year to USD 71.8 million (EUR 60.2 million) in the first five months. The value of the exports to Australia even soared 144 percent year-on-year to USD 17.14 million (EUR 14.4 million) in May.
Sales to the U.S. saw an increase of 31 percent to USD 294 million (EUR 246.4 million) in the period, helping Vietnam maintain one of the leading four suppliers of shrimp in the U.S., along with India, Ecuador and Indonesia.
Cooked and processed vannamei products accounted for 47 percent of Vietnam’s total shrimp sales to the U.S. over January-May and had prices of between USD 10.15 and USD 11.50 (EUR 8.50 and EUR 9.60) per kilogram. Breaded shrimp accounted for 16.5 percent of the total sales and was priced at between USD 10.50 and USD 10.65 (EUR 8.80 and EUR 8.90) per kilogram, followed by the frozen vannamei with 15 percent at the prices ranging from USD 9.60 to USD 9.80 (EUR 8.00 to EUR 8.20) per kilogram.
As demand for vannamei has resumed in the E.U. following the containment of the COVID-19 outbreak, Vietnam’s export value to the bloc grew 24 percent year-on-year to USD 201.3 million (EUR 168.7 million) in the first five months. Key markets in the E.U. included Germany with sales of USD 53.9 million (EUR 45.2 million), up 34 percent year-on-year; the Netherlands with USD 51.7 million (EUR 43.3 million), rising 13.8 percent from a year earlier; Belgium with USD 33.5 million (EUR 28 million), surging 14.2 percent; and France with USD 18.4 million (EUR 15.4 million), 8.6 percent higher than January-May 2020.
The value of the shrimp exports to other markets also rose, including in South Korea, with a growth of 1.2 percent year-on-year; the U.K., up 14.9 percent; Taiwan, an increase of 16.2 percent; and Russia, 72.8 percent higher year-on-year.
However, sales of shrimp to China during January-May dropped 19 percent year-on-year to USD 137 million (EUR 114.7 million). The decline was attributed to China’s strict measures on import cargoes to avoid any potential transmission of COVID-19, which have caused delays in the delivery of seafood shipments from Vietnam.
Specifically, Zhanjiang, a port in China’s Guangdong Province, will temporarily stop receiving cargoes of frozen seafood from Vietnam and 10 other Asian countries from 20 June to 15 July due to loading capacity.
Photo courtesy of abdul aziz bin yunos/Shutterstock
