Fishery export shows positive signs in the first months of the year

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), in January 2021, seafood exports reached US$ 606 million, up 23/4% over the same period in 2020. In February, due to long Tet holiday, seafood export is estimated at US$ 405 million, down by 19% year-on-year. Generally in the first 2 months of the year, seafood exports were estimated at over US$ 1 billion, up 2.2% over the same period in 2020.

Seafood export earlier this year has seen positive signs with many key products such as pangasius, sea fish (except tuna), whiteleg shrimp...

Due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, 2020 is a bleak year for the pangasius industry when export value continuously declined, with only US$ 1.49 billion, down 25.5% compared to 2019.

In January 2021, pangasius exports began to recover with a relatively high growth rate. According to VASEP, the total pangasius export value in the first month of the year reached US$ 123.5 million, up 21.7% over the same period last year.

The US was the largest market of Vietnamese pangasius in January with a value of more than US$ 27 million, increasing up to 51%. Followed by CPTPP countries with more than US$ 24 million, up 38% (of which, to Mexico increased 73%, to Australia increased 45%, to Canada increased 42%), China - Hong Kong ranked third with more than US$ 11 million...

Besides the US and CPTPP countries, pangasius exports to many other markets also increased sharply in January, of which exports to Brazil, Colombia, the UK and Russia increased from 37-129%.

In February, due to the long Tet holiday, pangasius export decreased compared to the same period in 2020. So for the first 2 months of the year, pangasius export value was estimated at US$ 214 million, up 1.7% compared to the first 2 months of 2020. 

Shrimp exports in the first 2 months of the year were estimated at US$ 380 million, down slightly by 0.8% over the same period last year. The slight decrease in shrimp exports was mainly due to the 48% reduction in the value of black tiger shrimp exports as a result of high prices (not suitable to the market during the Covid-19 pandemic) and the tight control of imported frozen foods in an attempt of the Chinese market to prevent the disease.

However, shrimp exports in general still have many positive signs, as the value of whiteleg shrimp exports is still growing (up about 14%) and this type of shrimp continues to account for 80% of the total export value.

Export of seafood products in the first 2 months of the year was estimated at nearly US$ 420 million, up 5.5% over the same period in 2020. In which, export of marine fish is growing well, with an estimated growth rate of 15%. The export of squid and octopus also increased slightly by 0.8%...

According to VASEP, in 2021, global seafood trade will still be affected by Covid-19 pandemic. The demand for seafood this year will still be products with reasonable prices, easy to process, long-term storage, suitable for processing and consumption at home such as small frozen whiteleg shrimp, processed whiteleg shrimp, grilled fish, surimi, sea fish fillet, dried anchovies, dried squid ...

Earlier this year, many Vietnamese seafood products were in high demand such as frozen whole/chopped/cut pangasius; dried squid; dried fish of all kinds; pasteurized crab meat; canned crab meat; frozen fish fillet; processed whiteleg shrimp; headless fresh/frozen whiteleg shrimp, block; peeled and headless whiteleg shrimp...

The good news is that in the context of the pandemic, Vietnam is still able to maintain its competitive advantage in raw material supply compared to other countries. In addition, free trade agreements such as EVFTA, UKVFTA ... will continue to be a lever for Vietnam's seafood exports to recover and continue to grow in some important markets. In addition, after being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, Vietnamese seafood enterprises have gained more experience and flexibility to adapt to fluctuations and changes in demand and tastes of the market.

Therefore, VASEP forecasts that seafood exports in 2021 will have positive results, estimated at US$ 8.8 billion, up nearly 5% compared to 2020.