(VASEPNews) Many experts in seafood industry predicted that shrimp exports to EU, Japan and the U.S. in 2012 will fluctuate due to these three markets’ instable economic situation. Vietnam shrimp export to three markets experienced the trend.
In the first month of the year, Vietnam shrimp shipment to these three markets dropped drastically, in which exports to Japan fell more than 12 percent, to the U.S. fell 22.6 percent and to EU sank 46.3 percent. In Feb 2012, shrimp delivery to three markets marked strong growth of 50.4 percent, 32.3 percent and 32.2 percent, respectively.During two first months, Vietnam shrimp exports to other markets like South Korea, China or Australia showed stable growth. In Jan-Feb 2012, shrimp exports to South Korea was up 56.9 percent and to Australia up nearly 92 percent.
Vietnam shrimp packers have a trend of boosting export to Asian markets due to instable consumption and import demand of traditional markets. Some Vietnam shrimp exporters said that they shifted to South Korea due to its high consumption demand.
Shrimp exports to other Asian markets showed positive growth. In Jan-Feb 2012, Vietnam shrimp shipment to Malaysia was up to 177.8 percent. Vietnam shrimp exports to Australia in Feb 2012 also surged sharply, reversing trend of some years ago. 100 percent of raw shrimp entering Australian market must be quarantined by local country to prevent disease. This has been the biggest barrier for Vietnam exporters when they penetrated into Australia. However, Vietnam shrimp exporters currently supply less raw shrimp but more value-added products. Therefore, Australia is considered an attractive destination for Vietnam shrimp.
In the first two months of 2012, Vietnam shrimp exports in general remained good performance. According to Vietnam Customs, Vietnam shrimp export value in the first two months this year touched over US$257 million, up 6.6 percent from that of the same period last year.