Vietnam exported USD 135.6 million (EUR 120.8 million) worth of surimi products in the first seven months of this year, a decrease of 16.6 percent year-on-year, according to the latest figures published by Vietnam Customs.
The main markets for Vietnamese surimi are South Korea, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Japan, the EU, China and Hong Kong, Russia, Taiwan and the United States, which combined accounted for 98 percent of the trade.
Surimi exports to South Korea for January through July 2016, declined 12.2 percent year-on-year to USD 44.5 million (EUR 39.7 million). At the same time, Vietnam’s exports to ASEAN markets and Japan fell 27.1 percent and 2.1 percent respectively.
During the same period, ASEAN countries imported USD 79.8 million (EUR 71.1 million) worth of Vietnamese pangasius, an increase of 0.2 percent year-on-year, consolidating the bloc’s position as the fourth largest market for the fish, behind the United States, the EU and China-Hong Kong.
Vietnam mainly exports frozen pangasius fillets and frozen pangasius steaks to ASEAN markets. In particular, Thailand accounts for 35.8 percent of Vietnamese pangasius exports to the region.
The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) forecasts that the country’s pangasius exports to ASEAN markets in the fourth-quarter will increase by 10 percent year-on-year.
Pangasius production in the Mekong Delta for the January through August 2016 period increased 4.4 percent year-on-year to 741,071 metric tons (MT).
