(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In August 2019, Vietnamese tuna exports continued to grow slowly. Export value of tuna in August only reached nearly US$65 million, up nearly 3% over the same period in 2018, bringing the total export value in the first 8 months to US$494 million.
The export growth rate to main markets in August tended to slow down. In addition to the decline in exports to the EU, Israel and China, tuna exports to Canada in this month also showed signs of slipping.
The US
Tuna exports to the US were very positive in August with a growth rate of 31%. As a result, the total value of tuna exports to the US in the first 8 months of 2019 climbbed by 56% over the same period in 2018. Exports of tuna product groups of Vietnam to the US all have increased over the same period in 2018, except live, fresh, frozen and dried tuna (excluding frozen tuna filets/loin). Among the product groups, frozen tuna filets/loin remained the largest proportion of Vietnam's total tuna exports to the US at 63%. Although canned tuna products accounted for a smaller share, yet exports this products are growing rapidly.
EU
Vietnamese tuna exports to the EU have not recovered. Tuna export value to this market continued to go down over the same period in 2018, reaching only nearly US$96 million, down 6.3%. Notwithstanding, the good news was that exports to Italy and Spain, the two largest tuna importers in Europe, are increasing tuna imports from Vietnam. Currently Italia and Spain are also the two largest importers of Vietnamese tuna in the EU.
Italia increased imports of live, fresh, frozen and dried tuna (excluding frozen tuna filets/loin) and other processed tuna (frozen steamed tuna loin...) while Spain tended to rise import of canned tuna and frozen tuna loin/fillets.
In contrast, tuna exports to the Netherlands continued to decline in August. Hence, the total export value of tuna to this market in the first 8 months of 2019, down 11.5%, only reaching nearly US$15 million.
ASEAN
In August, Vietnamese tuna exports to ASEAN continued to climb. However, the amount of growth was still not enough to offset the decline in the previous months, so the export value in the first 8 months of 2019 only reached US$ 33 million, down 0.9% over the same period in 2018. At present, Vietnamese live, fresh, frozen and dried fresh tuna exports to ASEAN are on the rise, while canned tuna exports tends to decrease.
Japan
In August 2019 tuna exports to Japanese market continued to grow well, reaching US$3.2 million, up 48% over the same period in 2018. In particular, the export of Vietnamese tuna product groups to the US all rose over the same period in 2018, except for frozen tuna fillets/loin. Notably, the group of canned tuna products tended to climbbed over the same period in 2018.
It is forecasted that tuna exports shall go up in the last months of the year, yet the growth rate will be at average level.