(seafood.vasep.com.vn) After dropping 3.6% in the first quarter, Vietnam's export of bivalve mollusks in the second quarter of 2020 continued to decrease slightly by 1.7% over the same period in 2019, reaching over US$23 million. Accumulated in the first 6 months of 2020, the exports of bivalve molluscs reached nearly US$42.5 million, down 1.7% over the same period in 2019.
In particular, clam exports accounted for 67% with nearly US$28 million, down nearly 12% from over US$32.4 million in the same period in 2019. Clam products for export including white clam, brown clam, frozen steamed/boiled clam that were mainly exported to Europe. The average price of Vietnamese clam exports in the first 6 months of the year reached about US$1.84/kg, equivalent to the same period in 2019.
The other products include oysters, scallops, blood cockles, mussels, snails...
In the second quarter, exports of bivalve molluscs plunged by nearly 9% in April and fell deeper with over 14% in May, however, in June there was a breakthrough with the growth of nearly 21% as exports to the EU rebound strongly (+ 33%); exports to Japan also rose by 22% and to Korea lifted dramatically by 454%.
About 60 Vietnamese companies were participating in export clam products to markets. In the first 6 months of 2020, Vietnam exported bivalve mollusks to 42 markets around the world. However, exports focused on three main markets the EU (accounting for 64%), Japan 13%, and the US 12%. Besides, Korea and ASEAN - each market made up for 3% of Vietnam's bivalve mollusks exports.
While exports to the EU tended to be better from the second quarter, exports to the US and Japan tended to go down. Exports to the US diminished by 24% in the second quarter, after increasing 39% in the first quarter; Exports to Japan after increasing by 18% in the first quarter, fell by nearly 9% in the second quarter. Therefore, as of the end of June, exports of bivalve molluscs to the EU decreased slightly by 3.7% to US$27.3 million; that to Japan went up by 3.5% to reach US$5.6 million; and that to the US fell by 2, 8% reached over US$5 million.