Jan-Apr 2018: Up 14% in Vietnam’s shrimp sales

Shrimp exports in the first four months of this year increased by 14% over the same period last year, reaching US$1 billion. In particular, exports of whiteleg shrimp reached US$687 million, accounting for 67.5% (compared with 63% compared to the same period last year), while exports of black tiger shrimp gained US$229 million, accounting for 22.5% (compared with 27% in the same period of 2017). In the structure of shrimp export products of Vietnam, sales of whiteleg shrimp inched up 25%, those of marine shrimp increased by 15% while those of black tiger shrimp dipped by 10% compared with the same period last year.

In the first 4 months of 2018, Vietnamese shrimp was sent to 76 markets. Exports to the top 8 importers of Vietnamese shrimp all increased except for Japan with a drop of 9.3%. Exports to South Korea and Australia recorded the highest growth of 34.4% and 26%, respectively. Exports to the U.S and China grew by 1.4% and 4%, respectively.

In the period, Vietnam’s shrimp exports to the EU touched US$189.6 million, up 11%. Exports to the three main importing markets (the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium) rose by 83.4%, 50% and 28% respectively. Shrimp exports to the EU remained stable due to the reduction of imports from India. Besides, Vietnamese exports to the EU currently enjoy the EU's Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), which provides developing countries preferential access to the EU market through reduced tariffs.

This time, shrimp exports to Japan reached US$175.3 million, down 9.3% over the same period last year due to the strong competition with Indian shrimp in this market.

Shrimp exports to the U.S in the first four months of this year totaled US$160 million, a slight increase of 1.4% due to low shrimp demand in the market because of the inventory and strong competition with India. Shrimp exports to the U.S in the coming time still have to face high anti-dumping tax and Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP). As of December 31^st Dec 2018, shrimp importers must comply fully with the requirements of the SIMP program.

The export value of Vietnamese shrimp in April decreased by 0.4%, reducing the growth rate of shrimp exports in the first 4 months, was partly driven by a fall in the price of shrimp in the country and the world. In April, the price of whiteleg shrimp sized 80-100 pcs/kg in some provinces in the Mekong Delta has shown signs of decrease compared to previous months. The main reason was the increase in world supply while the inventory remains in importing markets.

The price of the domestic raw shrimp forecasted to recover in the coming time. Major shrimp producing countries (India, Bangladesh, and Thailand) have been over-harvested and expected to reduce supplies in QIII and QIV this year. In addition, many shrimp exporters of Vietnam have begun to sign large orders for the holidays of the end of 2018 so shrimp prices are expected to increase again in August and September this year.