Positive prospect of shrimp exports surpassing the 4 billion USD milestone

Positive signals from the main market

Shrimp exports in the first few months of the year are growing impressively. According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), in the first quarter this year, shrimp exports reached nearly 955 million USD, up by 44% over the same period last year. This is a remarkable growth compared to the first quarters of previous years.

Ms. Kim Thu, shrimp market expert at VASEP, reported that in the first quarter this year, shrimp exports to major markets grew by double digits. This shows that the market demand is quite favorable for shrimp.

With the largest market for Vietnamese shrimp being the US, shrimp exports to this country in the first 3 months of this year reached nearly 195 million USD, up by 45% over the same period.

As another large market for Vietnamese shrimp, Japan also shows very promising signals in the first few months of the year. By mid-March, shrimp exports to Japan has reached over 113 million USD, up by 21% over the same period in 2021.

Growth in the Japanese market is even more remarkable considering the fact that for the past 2 years, shrimp exports to this market have been on a continuous decline in value compared to previous years (down by 0.9% in 2020, and by 6% in 2021).

For the EU market, shrimp exports in the first quarter of the year reached over 159 million USD, up by 66% over the same period last year. Specifically, exports to three main single markets in the bloc, namely the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium, increased by 77%, 59% and 82%, respectively.

A considerable opportunity

The achievement of reaching nearly 1 billion USD in export value in the first quarter of 2022 is reinforcing the fact that Vietnam's shrimp sector is likely to surpass the 4 billion USD milestone in exports this year, especially when forecasts are quite promising regarding the market aspect.

According to VASEP, the import demand from Japan for seafood products including shrimp remains very high. In addition, the Japanese Government is gradually easing border control measures as well as normalizing economic, social activities after Covid-19. Japan has lifted entry bans for 106 countries and territories, including the US, the majority of Europe and many Southeast Asian countries.

On the other hand, Vietnam and Japan are both members of four bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements (FTAs): the Vietnam-Japan Free Trade Agreement (VJEPA), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (AJCEP) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

VASEP believes that with these aforementioned factors, Vietnam's shrimp exports to Japan will have many growth opportunities this year.

In the EU market, demand for shrimp usually increases in the late summer and early autumn, so importers and distributors in the EU are preparing orders from now.

In the first month of this year, the US imported 78,716 tons of shrimp from many countries, which is worth 744.9 million USD (as reported by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - NOAA), an increase of 13% in volume and 24% in value over the same period in 2021.

In February, shrimp imports into the US continued to increase strongly to 66,335 tons, worth 636.4 million USD, up by 25% in volume and by 41% in value compared to February 2021.

US shrimp import demand in 2022 is expected to continue last year's growth momentum. Therefore, Vietnam's shrimp exports to the US will continue to be in the positive for the following months.

VASEP forecasts that shrimp exports this year will grow steadily thanks to high demand from markets as well as incentives from Trade Agreements such as CPTPP, EVFTA, UKVFTA, RCEP, etc.

In the second quarter, shrimp exports will continue to grow at a high rate and full-year exports can achieve a growth rate of about 10%. Thus, shrimp exports in 2022 will be full of opportunities for shrimp exports to surpass the USD 4 billion milestone for the first time.