(vasep.com.vn) In first 6 months of 2013, exports of main seafood products from Vietnam to EU continued to drop due to slow recovery in demand. Exports of pangasius and shrimp decreased 14% and 1.5%, valued at US$191 million and US$138 million, respectively. Meanwhile, exports of tuna to the market keep a stable growth of 31% in value, reaching US$69 million.
Total seafood exports to EU generated US$512 million, down 7.8% from the value in the same period of last year, taking the proportion of 17.7 percent of the total. From QII/2013, EU lost the first position of the largest buyer of Vietnam pangasius, passed by the US. Also, EU fell from the third to the fourth rank among the biggest buyers of Vietnam shrimp. However, it’s the stable market of Vietnam tuna, although exports the other markets such as the US and Japan sharply declined.
In 2012, seafood imports into EU were down of 6.6 percent from 2011. The decline was registered in imports of almost products.
European people tighten their spending due to financial crisis. Thus, they reduced purchasing seafood products with high prices.
EU, in 2013, is still in economic distress. Among EU members, Spain is the largest buyer of raw fish with the proportion of 15 percent. However, fish imports into the country slid sharply due to its economic downturn, low consumption demand, and local importers’ slow payment method. Seafood imports into Spain in 2012 fell of 16 percent, followed by France, Italy and Germany with a respective reduction of 8.3 percent, 14.4 percent and 10.4 percent over those of a year ago.