(seafood.vasep.com.vn) After positive growth in 4 months from May to August, Vietnamese shrimp exports to the US in September 2019 decreased by 18% to US $ 64.7 million. As of October 15, 2019, shrimp exports to this market reached US$510.5 million, up 1.2% over the same period in 2018.
The US is still Vietnam's second largest shrimp importer after the EU, accounting for 19.6% of Vietnam’s total shrimp export value.
Demand for US shrimp imports from Vietnam was more positive from May to August due to reduced inventories while the US was also reducing imports from India, Thailand and sharply reducing imports from China.
The US was the largest importer for Vietnamese whiteleg shrimp. Regarding the structure of Vietnamese shrimp exports to the US, whiteleg shrimp accounted for the largest proportion at 83.3%, tiger shrimp made up for only 12.6%. In the first 9 months of 2019, exports of live/fresh/frozen whiteleg shrimp to the US increased by 42% over the same period in 2018.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, Vietnamese breaded shrimp exported to the US in the first 8 months of 2019 reached 7,098 MT, worth US $ 50.8 million, up 57% in volume and 52% in value over the same period in 2018.
China, Thailand and Vietnam were the three main suppliers of breaded shrimp to the US, accounting for 31%, 26%, and 25% of the total shrimp import value of the US, respectively. Among three main suppliers, China was subject to a 25% tax, leading to a sharp reduction of 33% in value and 27% in volume compared to the same period in 2018. Breaded shrimp is a product with a high profit rate, so Vietnamese enterprises should continue to promote exports this product to the US.
Shrimp exports to the US expected to increase by about 5% in the last quarter of 2019.
In September 2019, the US imported 63,767 MT of shrimp, worth US$554.9 million, down 1.1% in volume and up 1.6% in value year on year.
In the first 9 months of 2019, shrimp imports into the US reached 494,964 MT, worth US$4.2 billion, compared to 489,639 MT and US$4.4 billion in the same period in 2018.
As of September 2019, the US imported 15,795 MT of shrimp, worth US$ 85.2 million from China, down 56% in volume and 66% in value over the same period in 2018.
Chinese shrimp exports to the US have fell due to the impact of the US-China trade war that made Chinese exporters have been subject to a 25% tax rate since May 2019.
In September 2019, shrimp imports into the US from Ecuador, Thailand, Argentina, Honduras and Panama all declined. Ecuador exported 6,801 MT of shrimp to the US, down 2% year on year. Thailand exported 3,691 MT of shrimp to the US, down 11%.
India was still the largest shrimp supplier to the US. This country exported to the US 198,350 MT of shrimp, valued at US$ 1.6 billion in the first 9 months of 2019, up 13% in volume and 4.5% in value over the same period in 2018.