(vasep.com.vn) In the late August 2012, Russia formally became the 156th member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Within the next 3 – 4 years, the country will slash import duty imposed on Vietnam fish from 10 percent to 6 percent.
Chinese cephalopod is dominating Russian market with the proportion of 56 percent among Russia’s total import of mollusk. In the first 10 months of 2012, Russia has stepped up importing raw cephalopod from China.
In the period between 2007 and 2011, Russia’s imports of mollusk reported a annually continuous growth of 10 – 15 percent in which imports from China.
During the time, Vietnam cephalopod exports to Russia experienced a stable growth but reported a modest growth both in volume and value compared to China’s exports.
In 2011, Russia continued to step up buying squid from many countries such as China, Chile, Thailand, Peru, Vietnam and Spain, in which Russia’s imports from China accounted for up to 80 percent of its total imports.
Up to now, Chinese seafood exporters are dominating in many markets, not only Russia because their export products are diversified with flexible export price. Their export price is often US$1 - 2 per kilogram lower than the import price of other markets.
Compared to the period of Jan – Oct 2011, export value of Vietnam cephalopod to Russia in Jan – Oct 2012 experienced a setback in June and September with the decline of 50.2 percent and 71 percent, respectively.
Export value in the other months of 2012 posed a sharp growth, especially the growth in Feb is 774 percent and in April is 476 percent.
Vietnam cephalopod exporters are increasingly facing strong competition with Chinese exporters in Russian market. However, imports into Russia is projected to increase in the time to come.
The average import duty on Vietnam seafood products will be 4.8 times lower than that of previous period. With the accession to WTO, Russia’s non-tariff barriers are also expected to ease. These are good chances for Vietnam cephalopod exporters to expand their market share in Russian market.