(seafood.vasep.com.vn) After 2 months of continuous decline, cephalopod exports of Vietnam has recovered, however, the growth rate is relatively low. According to the statistics of Vietnam Customs, the exports value of cephalopod in September 2018 reached US$57 million, with a rise of 3% compared to September 2017, bringing the total export value in the first nine months to US$474 million, increasing by 3.5% over the same period last year.
Specifically, in September, cephalopod exports of Vietnam to Japan - the second largest export market, had recovered. Meanwhile, exports to other major markets such as EU, ASEAN, China, the US ... were still low.
Korea
Korea continued to increase the imports of cephalopod from Vietnam. Exports value to the market in September reached US$24 million, a rise of 28% from September 2017, bringing the total exports value in the first nine months to nearly US$180 million, increasing by 16% over the same period last year. This year, cephalopod exports of Vietnam to Korea experiences unstable growth due to scarce resources. Currently, with the export tax rate of 0% for live/raw and frozen octopus (HS030751 and HS030759), Vietnam can promote the exports of these two products to Korea. Provided with a good supply, Vietnam will have the opportunity to increase market share.
Japan
After the decline in August, cephalopod exports to Japan increased again in September, reaching US$14 million, rising 10% from September 2017. Thus, the export value of cephalopod in this market in the first nine months continued to increase 1.8% compared the same period last year, reaching US$109 million. Vietnam continues to be an important supplier of squid for the Japanese market.
EU
Cephalopod exports to the EU has not shown signs of growth. Exports of this product group to the EU in September decreased by 25% compared to September 2017. By the end of September, the value of cephalopod exports to EU was only US$109 million, a drop of 26% over the same period last year.
Specifically, in September, cephalopod exports to France, the third largest import market in the EU, experienced a sudden growth of 101%. However, since the cephalopod exports to France fell heavily at the beginning of the year, the increase in recent months was not enough to compensate for the decrease in volume so exports in the first nine months of this year were still decreasing. Meanwhile, exports to Italy and Spain continued to fall.
ASEAN
Cephalopod exports to ASEAN in September decreased by 0.7%, reaching US$6.6 million. However, in the first nine months of this year, cephalopod exports of Vietnam was up by 15% over the same period, reaching US$61 million. Thailand continues to dominate the cephalopod exports from Vietnam to ASEAN. According to statistics, this month cephalopod exports to Thailand is not positive, dropping by 12% over the same period. The decline of exports to this market has led to a decline in exports to the ASEAN market.