(vasep.com.vn) After a sharp decline in the first 3 months of the year, Vietnam's seafood exports began to recover from April and this trend continued in May with an increase of 8.3% to reach US$592 million. While exports of shrimp and pangasius found the upward reversal, the marine products such as tuna, squid, octopus and other sea fish tended to decline.
Shrimp exports increased by nearly 23% compared to the same period last year to $244 million in May of 2013. Demands for shrimp from the import markets are rebounding. Shrimp exports to the U.S. increased 58%, Japan 18%, China 25% and the EU increased by 13%. Exports to other markets increased at a 2 digital rate. Total shrimp exports in first 5 months of the year reached US$864 million, up 6.2% compared to the same period in 2012.
Pangasius exports also increased by nearly 16% to US$174 million in May, bringing the total exports of 5 months to US$709 million, down 1.5% from the same period last year.
Meanwhile, the exports of tuna and other finfish in the first 5 months of this year were not stable. Although the supply of raw fish is abundant, but the consumer markets for these products are slow and prices are lower. Tuna exports fell 22% in May, exports of cephalopod down 22%, other finfish fell 1.4%. Tuna exports to Japan got the biggest drop (-41%), exports to the U.S. fell 27%.
Seafood exports in first 5 months totaled US$2.36 billion, equivalent to the same period in 2012.
