Vietnam was able to boost the value of tuna exports to the European Union in the first quarter of this year, but impacts from the “yellow card” imposed last year are forecasted to be felt in the coming months.
Vietnam exported tuna volumes worth USD 34.5 million (EUR 29 million) during January through March, up 25 percent from the same period last year, data from Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) showed.
“This increase indicates that the 'yellow card' has not much affected tuna exports from Vietnam to the E.U. in the period,” the association said in a statement.
But VASEP warned that the value of tuna exports to E.U. is expected to feel the negative impacts from the “yellow card” in the months ahead. The growth of the export value had apparently declined on month-on-month basis recently, VASEP said, without elaborating further.
The European Commission issued the "yellow card" to Vietnam in October 2017, warning the Pacific country it could ban its seafood exports entirely unless Hanoi did more to tackle illegal fishing.
The current “yellow card” is just a warning, but increased complaints from E.U. about Vietnam’s catch certification process recently started to negatively impact Vietnam’s cephalopod export value to the E.U. That export value went down nearly 30 percent year-on-year to USD 6.1 million (EUR 5.12 million) in January.
Exports of pangasius, Vietnam’s key seafood product in the E.U., were also affected. Vietnam shipped pangasius volumes worth USD 41 million (EUR 34.4 million) to the E.U. in the first quarter, down 17.7 percent year-on-year, according to VASEP.
In overall, the value of Vietnam’s tuna exports in the first quarter increased 13 percent from a year ago to USD 137 million (EUR 115 million). But the export value to U.S., the country’s biggest market for tuna products, fell 8.4 percent year-on-year to USD 40.8 million (EUR 34.3 million) in the period. Vietnam exported tuna volumes worth USD 6.2 million (EUR 5.2 million) to Japan during January-March, up 27 percent year-on year.
The U.S., E.U., Israel, ASEAN, Japan, Canada, Mexico and China were leading destinations, accounting for roughly 80 percent of Vietnam’s tuna products in the first quarter. The export value to the U.S., Canada and Mexico went down while the rest increased in the period, according to VASEP.
