(vasep.com.vn) After a continuous decline in the first 2 months of 2021, Vietnam's tuna exports to the US recovered in March. According to statistics of Vietnam Customs, in March alone, Vietnam exported nearly 31 million USD from tuna products, up 33% over the same period in 2020, bringing the total export value in the first 3 months of 2021 to more than 63 million USD, up 2.1%.
Vietnam tuna steaks
In early 2021, the crisis of lack of containers caused the cost of transporting frozen seafood exports to the US to skyrocket, many orders could not be fulfilled, or delivery was not on time… Besides, the US importers often buy goods at FOB (shipping on board) prices, so many importers have delayed orders due to damage. This is one of the reasons why Vietnam's tuna exports to the US declined in the first 2 months of the year.
In early 2021, because the Covid-19 epidemic continued to break out in the US, the country's imports of processed and canned tuna continued to increase. According to statistics from the World Trade Center (ITC), US imports of processed and canned tuna in the first two months of 2021 raised 21% in volume over the same period in 2020, while imports of fresh and frozen tuna from the US in the first 2 months of 2021 were up 21% in volume compared to the same period in 2020.
This trend has also affected Vietnam's tuna exports to the US market. Vietnam's processed and canned tuna exports to the US continued to increase, while fresh and frozen tuna exports decreased.
Compared to the same period last year, Vietnamese tuna products exported to the US have lower prices. The price of frozen steamed tuna loin from Vietnam exported to the US fluctuates at $6.4 - 6.6 USD/kg. And frozen tuna meat/fillets ranged at $9.3 - 9.9/kg.
According to statistics from the International Trade Center (ITC), in the US frozen tuna meat/fillet market segment in the first months of 2021, Vietnamese products have good competitive prices and are relatively stable compared with countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia or Thailand.
As for processed and canned tuna products, this year, the average export price of Vietnamese products tends to be higher than that of rival countries such as Thailand, Ecuador or Mauritius. The average import price of these products from Vietnam to the US is the highest among the four main suppliers. This is helping Ecuador to gain market share from Vietnam in this market segment in the US.
In the first quarter of this year, there were about 40 enterprises participating in exporting tuna to the US market. In which, Mariso Vietnam, Highland Dragon and Dragon Waves are the 3 largest tuna exporters.