(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Russia ranked 40th in Vietnamese shrimp imports, representing 0.3% of Vietnam's total shrimp export value to markets. Currently, Russia has just imported a little and tends to reduce shrimp imports from Vietnam. So, the Free Trade Agreement between the Economic Union of Vietnam and Eurasia (FTA VN-EAEU ) helps boost the export of Vietnamese shrimp to Russia?
Vietnam Free Trade Agreement - Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU - including Russia, Republic of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Republic of Armenia and Kyrgyz Republic) was signed on May 29, 2015, and is effective as of October 5, 2016. This is also the first EAEU FTA in which Vietnam mainly exports shrimp to Russia.
Under the EAEU commitment for Vietnamese shrimp with products HS code 030616910, 030616990, 030617910, 030617920, 030617930, 030617940, 030617990 will be reduced from the basic tax rate of 10% to 0% just after the VN-EAEU FTA is effective. The products of HS160521 and 160529 encoded shrimp (processed or preserved shrimp and other types of shrimp), 160530 (processed lobster) are reduced from the basic tax rate of 20% to 0% immediately after the agreement is valid.
Therefore, the main Vietnamese shrimp products exported to Russia include codes HS 030617, 030616 and processed shrimp, including codes HS 160521 and 160529, are exempt from taxes after the VN-EAEU FTA enters into force. However, the export of Vietnamese shrimp to Russia has not taken advantage of this advantage.
In recent years, Vietnamese shrimp export companies still focus on exploiting attractive traditional markets and have not appreciated fully the consumption potential in Eastern Europe.
In the context of the FTA-VN-EAEU, incentives have been created to export shrimp from Vietnam to Russia while competitors in the Russian market (India, Ecuador, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh) do not have a FTA with the EAEU yet. Vietnamese shrimp exporters need to remain and develop domestic raw materials to comply with the rules of origin while improving the competitiveness of companies and products to meet quality standards and market techniques.