(vasep.com.vn) Tension in the East Sea appears to have no impact on seafood trade between Vietnam and China. If the incident is settled peacefully, Vietnam seafood exports, particularly shrimp exports to China will continue to gain good results due to China’s shortage of shrimp supply caused by EMS.
Shrimp accounted for a major proportion among Vietnam’s total seafood exports to China. In 2013, shrimp exports to the market reached US$381.1 million, making up 67 percent of Vietnam’s total seafood export value to the market.
China is an “easily accessible market” without strict requirements on product design like EU or Japan, according to a Vietnamese shrimp exporter who has supplied its shrimp products to China during the past 10 years. The exporter mainly exports HLSO shrimp to the market. Thanks to stable raw shrimp supply, the company has established a firm and long-term relationship with Chinese partners. Therefore, company’s shrimp exports to China are not hurt by current tensions in the East Sea.
Vietnam has advantages in supplying black tiger shrimp to China in comparison with other suppliers of the item to the market. Vietnam is the largest producer of black tiger shrimp while demand for the item from China is increasingly high. This leads to a continuous increase in Vietnam shrimp exports to China. In 2013, shrimp exports to China were up 49.1 percent. In the first 4 months of 2014, shrimp shipment from Vietnam to the market remained the year-on-year growth of 60.3 percent.