Vietnam had to lower shipments of shrimp to China last year as the latter reduced imports due to a high stockpile and increased inspections against trading activities through inland border areas, according to Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
The Southeast Asian nation exported shrimp worth nearly USD 450 million (EUR 392.8 million) to China from January to November last year, falling 29.5 percent from 2017, the largest drop of any of Vietnam's major markets for shrimp. The export value rose on a year-on-year basis in January through March 2018, but fell in the remaining months between April and November 2018, VASEP said.
The lower exports to China were attributed to a high stockpile of shrimp in China and lower prices, which together drove their importers to delay purchase of large cargoes. The lower sales of shrimp from Vietnam were also because Chinese authorities strengthened inspections against trading activities across the land borders from Vietnam. In early 2018, VASEP raised concerns about the quality of the seafood exports traveling through land borders to China via small traders, which resulted in a negative impact to exports by ocean shipping by big companies.
Giant tiger shrimp and whiteleg shrimp accounted for 64.7 percent and 30.8 percent of Vietnam’s total shrimp exports to China in the first 11 months of 2018.
Vietnam ranked eighth in top shrimp exporters to China, holding a market share of 1.8 percent in 2017. The market share of Thailand in 2017 was 16.1 percent, followed by India with 9.7 percent, and Indonesia at two percent, VASEP said.
Vietnam’s lower exports to China last year fall in line with the overall picture of its shrimp exports. The country’s estimated shrimp export value last year fell 7.1 percent to USD 3.59 billion (EUR 3.13 billion).
Photo courtesy of VASEP
