Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) expected that seafood exports would help the industry obtain this year’s revenue target of US$6.5 billion as many challenges in aquatic farming sectors are foreseen.
Farmed pangasius and shrimp exports have fetched the biggest foreign currency revenue for the country with the U.S., Japan and Europe being the largest importers. However, shrimp exports have faced technical barriers in Japan while exports to other markets have seen problems with anti-subsidy lawsuits and economic recession.
Last year, Vietnam’s shrimp export revenue to Europe stood at nearly US$318 million, a 24.5% year-on-year decline.
VASEP has predicted many difficulties in this market this year as Europe is still in a crisis. For pangasius, there would be tough competition among enterprises as they will have to lower selling prices to pay bank debts.
According to the Vietnam News Agency, VASEP estimates seafood export value at around US$1.1 billion in the first quarter, down 13% against the previous year, as local supply has dwindled and export prices declined.
Pangasius export value is expected at around US$230-250 million, a 40% year-on-year drop, due to falling export volumes to big markets such as the U.S and the European Union.
Meanwhile, farmed shrimp output is projected to fall by 20-30% in this quarter, causing a huge pressure on material shrimp supply. Challenges in import markets may drag shrimp export value by 18-20% to US$360 million.
However, VASEP told the Daily that seafood products have still posted up export growth and are consumed strongly on Asian markets. Last year, Asia purchased nearly 70% of seafood from Vietnam with South Korea, Japan and ASEAN nations being strong importers of tuna and octopus products.