United States and the EU, the two main markets for shrimp grown in Vietnam, both increased their imports of these products in the first five months of this year line with higher demand and lower inventories, said the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
In the January-May period, the U.S. market imported USD 249.3 million (EUR 224 million) worth of Vietnamese shrimp, an increase of 17.4 percent year-on-year. The EU, meanwhile, imported USD 208.4 million (EUR 187.2 million) worth of product from the Southeast Asian country, up 8.2 percent year-on-year.
Within the EU, Germany was the No. 1 market for the product, followed by the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Shrimp exports to these three markets increased 4.3 percent, 21.6 percent and 9.4 percent, respectively.
However, it was Vietnam’s shrimp exports to China that showed the highest growth during the five months, with a total revenue of USD 182.3 million (EUR 163.8 million), up 34.3 percent.
According to VASEP, China is buying more shrimp from outside markets due a fall in its own shrimp production and higher domestic consumption.
Overall, Vietnam exported USD 1.1 billion (EUR 988.3 million) worth of shrimp in January-May, up 5.9 percent year-on-year.
Declines were seen in exports to Japan, Australia, Canada, ASEAN, Taiwan and Switzerland.
VASEP expects Vietnam shrimp exports in Q2 2016 will reach USD 780 million (EUR 700.8 million), up 10 percent year-on-year.
