Many Japanese investors have recently started to shift their seafood investments from China to Vietnam, according to the Directorate of Fisheries.
Nguyen Huy Dien, Deputy Head of the directorate, said on the sidelines of a meeting held by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (Vasep) on Wednesday that the directorate on Wednesday had a working session with a Japanese delegation of parliamentary members and enterprises coming to study the seafood farming and processing sector.
The Chinese market has lost its appeal to Japanese enterprises, and thus they want to invest in Vietnam in this sector. Many Japanese enterprises have worked with Vietnamese seafood exporters on detailed cooperation plans, according to Dien.
According to Vasep, Japan is Vietnam’s third largest seafood importer with US$398 million worth of shipments reported in the year’s first five months, over 17% of Vietnam’s total seafood export. Japanese consumers’ favorite products imported from Vietnam include shrimp, squid, octopus and tuna.
The shrimp export to Japan has bounced back after over one year of decline. The falling export resulted from the impact of tests on antioxidant Ethoxyquin which is often found in aquaculture feed.
Last month, Japan increased the level of Trifluralin residues allowed in Vietnamese shrimp by 500 times to 0.5ppm, making it easier for Vietnamese shrimp exporters.
Vasep has forecast the country’s shrimp shipments to Japan in the second and third quarters may slightly rise versus the same period last year, which results from Japan’s increasing import demand and low levels of available stocks.
However, the Japanese yen fall against the U.S. dollar has made shrimp import and consumption more expensive in that market.