Vietnam exported USD 483.6 million (EUR 409.6 million) worth of shrimp to the EU in the first eight months of 2017, representing an increase of 30 percent year-on-year, with double-digit increases reported in its three largest markets: the United Kingdom (46.5 percent), the Netherlands (47.8 percent), and Belgium (34.1 percent).
The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said that within the EU, Vietnamese shrimp is mainly competing with products from India and Ecuador, but that India had reduced its exports to the bloc this year.
Furthermore, the association believes the trade will benefit from the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement when it is implemented next year.
At the same time, VASEP highlighted that overall, the EU’s shrimp imports have been on a declining trend this year. It attributed the market’s reduced demand to a dip in shrimp production and the subsequent rise in prices.
For the first five months of 2017, the EU’s shrimp imports totaled USD 2 billion (EUR 1.7 billion), down 18.4 percent year-on-year.
Within the bloc, Spain’s shrimp imports increased by 7.3 percent to USD 369.2 million (EUR 312.7 million), but the value of shipments into France and the United Kingdom fell by 1.4 percent and 8.2 percent to USD 338.6 million (EUR 286.9 million) and USD 230 million (EUR 194.9 million), respectively.
The EU accounts for more than 30 percent of total global shrimp imports, with the trade totaling USD 6.7 billion (EUR 5.7 billion) last year.
