(seafood.vasep.com.vn) After increasing to the highest level in 2022, Canada's tuna imports in 2023 dropped to the lowest level in the past 10 years, reaching 35 thousand tons, down 24% over the year. Canada is currently one of the 15 largest tuna import markets in the world.
According to statistics from the World Trade Center (ITC), Canada imported tuna from more than 43 countries around the world in 2023, reaching 214 million USD. In particular, Thailand, Italy, Vietnam, the USA, Mexico, Indonesia, Ecuador, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines are the 9 largest tuna suppliers in this market, accounting for 95% of the total import value.
In 2023, Canada's tuna imports from major suppliers decreased compared to the previous year.
Currently, Thailand's tuna products are dominating the Canadian tuna market, with a proportion of up to 52% of the total tuna import turnover of this market. Therefore, to avoid being too dependent on tuna supplies from Thailand companies, in recent years Canadian importers have tended to reduce imports from this country. And Canada is increasingly expanding its tuna supply from other countries, such as Vietnam, Indonesia, or Ecuador.
Vietnam's tuna exports to Canada in recent years
Vietnam's tuna exports to Canada from 2019 to 2022 were increasing. In 2023, due to the impact of economic inflation, exports declined. But overall, export turnover in the past 5 years increased from 21 million USD in 2019 to nearly 34 million USD in 2023, an increase of 57%.
Canada imports a lot of processed and canned tuna from other countries, accounting for more than 80% of the total import value. Since the CPTPP Agreement took effect, exports of canned tuna products with the HS code 16 from Vietnam to Canada have increased significantly. The export turnover of this product group increased from 8 million USD to nearly 15 million USD in the past 5 years. However, Vietnam's market share is still small, only about 13%, while Thailand is 52% and Italy is 15%.
On the contrary, in the frozen tuna meat/loin segment (HS code 0304) in Canada, Vietnam is leading with a market share of about 46%. Currently, the main competitors with Vietnam for products of HS code 0304 are Indonesia and Ecuador. However, Canadian demand for products in this product group has not increased much. The CPTPP Agreement does not have a significant immediate impact on Vietnam's export growth of product groups under HS code 0304.