Total tuna exports from Vietnam in the first four months of this year fell by 3 percent year-on-year to USD 141 million (EUR 124.8 million). However, April showed signs of improvement with the trade valued at USD 42.5 million (EUR 37.6 million), up 2.5 percent compared to the corresponding month in 2015.
According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), in the four months January through April, Vietnam’s exports of processed/canned tuna totaled USD 55.5 million (EUR 49.1 million), down 21.3 percent year-on-year, while its exports of fresh/live/frozen tuna reached USD 86 million (EUR 76.1 million), up 13.7 percent year-on-year.
While exports were down to the Southeast Asian country’s No.1 market, the United States, in each of the four months, there was an upturn in its EU tuna trade in April, and exports to China continued on their recent strong growth trend.
VASEP reported that tuna exports to the United States in the first four months of this year totaled USD 56.3 million (EUR 49.8 million), down 3.4 year-on-year. The market’s imports of frozen tuna fillets/loins from Vietnam during this period were valued at USD 38.4 million (EUR 34 million), up 28 percent, while its imports of canned tuna, other processed tuna and fresh/live/frozen tuna dropped 19 percent, 7 percent and 78 percent, respectively.
In April, Vietnam’s tuna exports to the EU totaled USD 9 million (EUR 8 million), up 3 percent compared with April 2015. However, the combined four-month total was down 10 percent year-on-year to USD 33 million (EUR 29.2 million). During this period, the bloc increased its imports of fresh/live/frozen/dry tuna by 39 percent to USD 19 million (EUR 16.8 million), whereas sales of canned/processed tuna fell by 39 percent to USD 14 million (EUR 12.4 million).
Meanwhile, Vietnam’s tuna exports to China over the same four months totaled USD 10 million (EUR 8.8 million), up 187 percent year-on-year, with the market mainly importing tuna fillets and loins.
Vietnam’s tuna exports in May were expected to continue the recovery, said VASEP.
