Vietnam is the second largest tuna supplier for the U.S

Out of 64 tuna suppliers for this market, over 40 suppliers slashed exporting tuna to the market. On the contrary, Vietnam and other 20 suppliers (including Thailand and other Pacific Islands) still boosted tuna exports to the U.S.

Thailand ranked the first in exporting tuna to the U.S., accounting for 42.5 percent of the U.S.’s total import volume and 35.6 percent of total value; followed by Vietnam that took up 8.3 percent in volume and 9 percent in value.

The U.S. bought over 30 types of tuna products, in which processed tuna in whole round or steak (HS code 1604143099) took the largest amount with over 49 thousand MT, worth US$200 million in the first 6 months of this year. The figures occupied 37 percent of total volume and 25 percent of total value. Processed tuna in whole round or steak was followed by tuna not in oil and not in airtight containers with a volume of 35.5 thousand MT, worth US$209 million, taking the proportion of 26.6 percent and 25.9 percent, respectively.

Tuna (HS code 1604143099) was the main tuna product exported to the U.S. from Thailand with a volume of over 31 thousand MT, worth US$78 million. The figures were up 38 percent in volume and 44 percent in value from the same time of the previous year. Thailand was also the largest supplier of tuna (HS code 1604144000) for the U.S. exporting over 13 thousand MT of the item, a worth of US$78 million, up 55 percent in volume and 47 percent in value.

While Vietnam in the first 6 months of this year provided the U.S. with 5.8 thousand MT of processed tuna (HS code 1604143099), worth US$24 million, down 9 percent in volume and 3 percent in value from Jan-Jun 2012.

According to Vietnam Customs, for the year  to June, tuna exports to the U.S. reported revenues for US$108.6 million, down 15.5 percent from that of the same period of 2012. In the second quarter of 2013, tuna exports to this market tended to shrink in each month and, compared to the same period of 2012, it registered a sharp decrease.

In the second quarter of this year, tuna exports to the U.S. attained US$51.7 million, down 29 percent from the same period of 2012 and down compared to the previous quarter (US$57 million). In Jun 2013, tuna exports to the market reached US$14.2 million, down 46 percent. Vietnam’s tuna shipment will continue to be on the downward trend due to a fierce competition with other supplier mainly Thailand and instability in the quality of domestic raw tuna attributable to scarce post-harvest storage techniques. Yellowfin tuna and frozen skipjack tuna were Vietnam’s items exported to the U.S., however, they took a small proportion. As a result, they fail to compensate for the current decline in tuna exports.