Vietnam sets a target of earning 4.1-4.2 billion USD from shrimp exports this year, higher than 3.6 billion USD recorded in 2018, according to the Directorate of Fisheries under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

With its geographic proximity to Vietnam and its huge demand for shrimp, China should be a major market for Minh Phu's shrimp, company chairman and CEO Le Van Quang told SeafoodSource.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Contrary to the trend of 2017 with a growth rate of nearly 60%, Vietnam shrimp exports to China in 2018 witnessed a decline. From the 3rd position on Vietnam shrimp import markets in 2017, accounting for nearly 18%, this year, China dropped to the 4th position, accounting for nearly 14% of the total value of Vietnam shrimp export to the markets.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The Netherlands was Vietnam's second largest shrimp importer in the EU, accounting for 5.6% of Vietnam's total shrimp export value in the first 11 months of 2018. In the shrimp export structure, black tiger shrimp accounted for about 15% of total exported shrimp products to the Netherlands. Currently, the demand for importing black tiger shrimp to the Netherlands from Vietnam was still quite stable.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Exporting Vietnamese shrimp products to the UK has a tendency to increase as the UK promotes the import of warmwater shrimp thanks to affordable price compared with cold water shrimp.

Vietnam is hoping to take in USD 10.5 billion (EUR 9.26 billion) from exports of its seafood products in 2019, up 19.5 percent from last year, according to a statement from Vietnam’s General Department of Fisheries.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Whiteleg shrimp is the product that plays a key role in the export structure of shrimp to the US, accounting for over 80% of total exported shrimp products to the US. For many years, the United States has maintained the number 1 position of importing whiteleg shrimp of Vietnam.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In the first 10 months of this year, shrimp export of Vietnam reached US$2.97 billion, falling by 5.8% compared to the same period in 2017.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The EU accounts for about 28% of the total value of shrimp imports worldwide. EU shrimp imports range from US$6-8 billion per year. In 10 years (2007-2017), imports of shrimp into the EU increased from US$ 5.6 billion to 6.9 billion in 2017. Export of Vietnamese shrimp, especially whiteleg shrimp to some markets in the EU, is currently witnessing various opportunities.

Farmers in Tra Vinh province’s coastal areas expanded the breeding of shrimp and other aquatic species to an additional 1,700ha of mangrove forests this year, according to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Japan is the second largest shrimp importer in the world, accounting for about 14% of total shrimp import value of the world by 2017. Each year, Japan imports about US$2.5 billion of shrimp products.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Since the second quarter of 2018, Vietnam shrimp export have continuously declined compared with the same period in 2017. In September, Vietnam shrimp exports decreased 14.8% over the same period last year to nearly 332 million USD. Due to the decline in the second quarter and the third quarter of this year, shrimp exports in the first nine months of this year reached $ 2.6 billion, with 4% lower as for the same period in 2017.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Since the beginning of the second quarter to August this year, Vietnam’s shrimp exports remained the downward trend in value over the same period in 2017. Specifically, in July, exports fell by 20.3% over the same period last year; sales to most of major importing markets fell sharply.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) According to a report from Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) under the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA), in the first seven months of this year, the U.S imported 359,948 MT of shrimp, worth by US$3.3 billion, up 3% in volume but down 1% in value from a year ago.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The EU is the largest export market of Vietnamese shrimp, accounting for 24.7 percent of Vietnam’s total shrimp exports. Vietnam’s shrimp exports to this market as of September this year reached 648.4 million USD, up 11 percent over the same period in 2017.