China becomes the first 'billion-dollar market' for Vietnamese shrimp

Seafood exports to China experienced robust growth in 2025, significantly driven by shrimp products. According to Vietnam Customs, in the first 11 months of 2025, shrimp exports to China reached over 113,000 tons, valued at $1.138 billion - a 48.4% increase in volume and a 63.3% increase in value compared to the same period in 2024.

With these results, this marks the first time shrimp exports to China have surpassed the $1 billion mark, making China the first-ever market to reach this milestone for Vietnamese shrimp. Historically, the United States was the largest market for many consecutive years; however, even at its peak in 2022, shrimp export turnover to the U.S. only reached $807 million.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), citing China Customs data, China's total shrimp import value in the first 10 months of 2025 reached approximately $4.3 billion, a 10% increase year-on-year, while import volume grew only slightly by 1%. This indicates that Chinese consumers are willing to pay more for premium or deep-processed shrimp products, leading to an increase in average selling prices.

This shift in consumption patterns has played a crucial role in the surge of Vietnamese shrimp exports to this market, highlighted by the "rise" of premium products such as lobster and black tiger shrimp.

Lobster emerged as Viet Nam’s top shrimp export to China over the past year. In the first 10 months of 2025, lobster exports to China & Hong Kong reached $702 million, a 135% surge compared to the same period in 2024, accounting for nearly all of Vietnam's lobster exports worldwide ($712 million).

Following lobster is black tiger shrimp. In 2025, Viet Nam maintained a distinct advantage in this segment in China & Hong Kong - the number one market for this product. Black tiger shrimp belongs to the high-end segment, primarily serving the HORECA (Hotel-Restaurant-Catering) channel and consumer segments that demand high quality and uniform sizes.

The robust growth of shrimp exports has not only secured China’s position as the largest market for Vietnamese shrimp for the second consecutive year but has also seen China surpass the U.S. for the first time to become the largest overall market for Viet Nam's seafood industry. In the first 11 months of 2025, total seafood exports to China reached $2.07 billion, with more than half of that value (55%) coming from shrimp products.