(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In March 2021, Vietnam's tuna exports recovered with a 27% increase over the same period in 2020 reaching $66 million. As a result, the total value of Vietnam's tuna exports in the first three months of the year increased by 3.2% compared to the first quarter of 2020 to more than 151 million USD.
In March 2021, Vietnam's tuna exports increased by 27%
Vietnam's tuna products have been exported to 81 markets. In general, in the first quarter, Vietnam's tuna exports to major markets increased over the same period. The US, EU, Canada, Israel, Japan, Egypt, Thailand and the Philippines are the 8 largest single tuna import markets of Vietnam.
The US
After a decline in the first two months of the year, Vietnam's tuna exports to the US in March recovered, so cumulative exports in the first three months of the year increased by 2.1% over the same period in 2020, reaching more than 63 million USD. Vietnam exports the most frozen tuna meat/fillets with HS code 03048700 and frozen steamed tuna meat/loin with HS code 16041490 to the US market. The average export price of tuna products with HS code 03048700 in the first three months of this year was at $6,488/ton, down 14% over the same period in 2020. The average export price of tuna products with HS code 16041490 was at $6,488/ton, down 10%. Currently, the average export price of these two product groups of Vietnam tends to increase gradually month by month, contrary to the trend of the same period last year.
EU
In March, Vietnam's tuna exports to the EU also increased, bringing the total export value to this market in the first three months of the year to more than 28 million USD, up 9% over the same period in 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic continues to spread in the EU countries has made the demand for canned tuna in this region continue to increase. Besides, the Free Trade Agreement between the EU and Vietnam (EVFTA) taking effect, allowing 11,500 tons of canned tuna from Vietnam to be exempt from export tax to the EU, is creating a driving force to promote exports to the market bloc. this. Therefore, Vietnam's canned tuna exports to the EU increased by 27% over the same period. Along with that, exports of fresh and frozen tuna with HS code 03 (except frozen tuna meat/fillet code SH0304) also increased over the same period.
Other markets
In the first three months of the year, Vietnam's tuna exports to large traditional markets such as the US and EU faced many difficulties due to lack of containers, increased transportation costs, etc. Therefore, many Vietnamese tuna exporters Nam has shifted to expand exports to other markets such as Korea, China... to offset the decline in major export markets. Compared to the same period last year, the growth rate of exports to Korea and China in this quarter was 378% and 51% respectively.