Asian market – The key market
Asian markets continue to be the main growth driver of the industry’s growth. By the end of August 2025, South Korea and Thailand remained the largest single markets, with export values of $56 million and $53 million respectively. These markets not only consume directly but also serve as reprocessing hubs supplying neighboring regions, ensuring stable demand.
The CPTPP bloc also recorded an impressive 24% growth, reaching $37 million. Exports to the key importing markets are performing strongly. Notably, Japan remains one of the top importers with nearly $21 million, up 22% year-on-year. This reflects a strong recovery in demand for Vietnam’s traditional and high-quality processed products.
However, this group of markets also saw some minor fluctuations in the past month, as exports to South Korea saw an unexpected slight decline of just over 2% compared to the same period last year.
EU and China – Emerging growth
The most remarkable highlight in the export picture of the first 8 months is the strong surge in the EU and China markets.
Exports to the EU skyrocketed by 60%, reaching nearly $20 million. Economic recovery and easing inflation have boosted demand for mid-priced, convenient processed products. Leading this growth is Lithuania, with imports soaring by 69%. This impressive growth shows that Vietnamese enterprises have effectively leveraged the advantages of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).
Meanwhile, China and Hong Kong market also demonstrated tremendous potential with a 50% growth, reaching a value of $31 million. The increasing demand for consumption and reprocessing in this billion-population market is opening up significant opportunities for Vietnamese exporters.
In contrast, the U.S market remained sluggish, growing only 2% over 8 months with exports of just under $7 million, reflecting challenges from tariff policies and cautious sentiment among importers.
Outlook and challenges
Overall, the outlook for Vietnam’s fish cake and surimi industry in the final months of the year is highly positive. Global consumption trends are increasingly favoring convenient, affordable alternative protein products, which are strengths of surimi.
Asian markets are expected to remain the main growth driver due to stable demand and flexible pricing. At the same time, recovery in the EU is expected to persist, focusing on convenient products aligned with cost-saving consumption trends.
However, the industry also faces significant challenges. Price competition from regional rivals such as India, Thailand and China is intensifying. In addition, rising logistics and raw material costs, along with increasingly stringent import requirements, demand that Vietnamese enterprises continuously enhance quality and competitiveness to sustain long-term growth.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s seafood exports reached $989.5 million in November 2025, up 64.6% year-on-year. The robust monthly performance played a pivotal role in driving the total export turnover for the first 11 months of 2025 to $10.5 billion, representing a 19% increase compared with the same period in 2024.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s crab exports reached USD 81 million in the first 11 months of 2025, with the United States accounting for more than 82% of total value. While newly imposed reciprocal tariffs and the enforcement of provisions under the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) pose significant challenges for Vietnam, the European Union is emerging as a promising growth market.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The Ca Mau Department of Agriculture and Environment has recently issued a plan to develop specialized crab raw material zones serving official export channels, covering a scale of around 50,000 hectares. This marks a significant shift in the sea crab industry towards professional production aligned with market requirements.
(seafood.vasep.comvn) According to the Tay Ninh Statistics Office, fisheries output in the province fell significantly in November 2025 due to the impact of storms and heavy rainfall, which delayed harvesting activities, particularly for pangasius.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The year 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the United States (1995–2025). In parallel with the nation's progress in international economic integration, bilateral seafood trade has followed a remarkably impressive growth trajectory, expanding from an initial scale of just tens of millions of US dollars to nearly $2 billion annually. This growth has positioned the United States as Vietnam’s largest seafood export market for many consecutive years.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On December 12, 2025, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Processing and Export (VASEP) issued document 231/CV-VASEP regarding strengthening measures to combat IUU fishing and working with the Government to lift the EC's IUU yellow card warning.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Tilapia is easy to farm and provides high economic and nutritional value, making it a sought-after export commodity in many countries.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s seafood exports in the first 10 months of 2025 recorded significant progress, reaching more than USD 9.5 billion, up 15% year-on-year. This result reflects the sector’s persistent efforts amid a highly volatile market, especially policy shocks from the US Although signs of slowdown emerged in the third quarter due to countervailing taxes, key product groups still maintained strong momentum and created a foundation for full-year exports to reach USD 11 billion.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s agreement with the United States on a framework for reciprocal, fair, and balanced trade—reached during the 2025 ASEAN Summit in Malaysia—has generated strong optimism for Vietnamese exports, including tuna. Numerous positive points in the joint statement have raised high expectations for Vietnamese export goods, but turning these expectations into tangible benefits remains a long and challenging journey.
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