South Korea imported 14,103 metric tons (MT) of shrimp with a total value of USD 115.8 million (EUR 101.9 million) in the first-quarter of this year, an increase in value of 4.9 percent year-on-year, continuing the growth trend seen in 2015 and 2016.
According to the International Trade Centre (ITC), the value of shrimp imports into South Korea in 2016 reached USD 532.3 million (EUR 468.6 million), up 4.5 percent compared to 2015. In volume terms, these exports totaled 83,000 MT, making it the world’s seventh biggest shrimp importer in volume and the twelfth largest in value terms. The country mainly imports frozen shrimp.
Vietnam is by far the No.1 shrimp supplier to South Korea, providing USD 281.7 million (EUR 248 million) worth of product to the market last year and almost USD 249 million (EUR 219.2 million) worth in 2015. China was the next most important supplier with a shrimp trade of USD 69.6 million (EUR 61.3 million) in 2016, although this was 7.5 percent less than in the previous year.
Continuing these trends in Q1 2017, South Korea’s shrimp imports from Vietnam increased by 5.3 percent year-on-year to USD 57.2 million (EUR 50.4 million), while those from China in the same period decreased by 27.4 percent to less than USD 10.6 million (EUR 9.3 million).
At 10 percent, Vietnam is subject to the equal lowest import duty to the South Korean market alongside Thailand. Its other main competitors such as China, India and Ecuador pay duties of 20 percent, 12.5 percent and 20 percent respectively.
In total, Vietnam exported USD 618 million (EUR 544 million) worth of shrimp in Q1 2017, which was on par with the corresponding quarter of 2016, with products going to 68 markets. For the whole year, its exports are forecast to reach USD 3.4 billion (EUR 3 billion), up 9 percent compared to last year.
The country’s total shrimp harvest is expected to increase slightly to 660,000 MT this year.
