Positive sign of Vietnam shrimp exports to the EU and US

As shrimp supply from main producers in the world is still relatively large, the price of shrimp in the world has not increased. Meanwhile, trade barriers and measures to protect the domestic market from major import markets have also affected the shrimp exports of Vietnam.

In addition, the sharp rise of the dollar value compared to some other currencies has caused the importers to reduce the price of shrimp. Shrimp prices have recently tended to inch up but not enough to offset the impact of the dollar rise.

Whiteleg shrimp remained dominant in the structure of shrimp export products of Vietnam, accounting for 68.4%, while the proportions for black tiger shrimp and marine shrimp were 23.1% and 8.5% consecutively. Compared with the first nine months of 2017, the proportion of whiteleg shrimp increased while the proportion of black tiger shrimp decreased.

In the first nine months of 2018, the value of processed whiteleg shrimp exports increased by 1%, while that of black tiger shrimp fell by 7% and that of marine shrimp fell by 28% compared to the same period last year.

For whiteleg shrimp, the value of processed whiteleg shrimp (HS code 16) increased by 10% while live/fresh/frozen whiteleg shrimp (HS code 03) decreased by 5%. For black tiger shrimp, the value of processed black tiger shrimp (HS 16) decreased by 19% and that of live/fresh/frozen black tiger shrimp (HS code 03) dropped by 6%.

EU

EU is Vietnam's largest shrimp importer, accounting for 24.7% of Vietnam's total shrimp exports to markets. In the first quarter of this year, Vietnam shrimp exports to EU increased sharply in the context of shrimp export to big markets such as the US, China and Japan. However, in the third quarter of this year, shrimp exports to this market began to decline. Thanks to the positive growth in the first two quarters of this year, Vietnam shrimp exports to this market reached US$648.4 million in September, accumulating an increase of 11% over the same period in 2017.

The UK, the Netherlands and Germany are the three largest shrimp importers of Vietnam in the EU. In the first nine months of this year, shrimp exports to all three markets showed positive growth of 27.6%, 11.6% and 19.4% respectively over the same period last year.

Vietnamese shrimp still maintains competitive advantages over other EU competitors such as India and Thailand. These rivals of Vietnam are increasingly reducing exports to the EU due to issues on quality standards.

In Europe, the demand for convenience food is increasing due to busy life and time pressure. Consumers enjoy meals that are easy to prepare and easy to cook with affordable price. If businesses provide PUD shrimp products, marinated shrimp with competitive price, companies will take up a lot of opportunities in this market in the coming time.

The US

The US is Vietnam's third largest shrimp importer, accounting for 18% of Vietnam's shrimp export value to markets. After the decline from April to July this year, exports to this market has recovered in August and September this year. Export of shrimp to the US in the first nine months of this year reached $ 472.4 million, with 3% lower compared to that of the same period in 2017.

The end result of the anti-dumping duty for Vietnamese shrimp during the 12th administrative review period - POR12 (from 1 February 2016 to 31/1/2017) has been reduced to 4.58%. This positive result will help Vietnamese shrimp farmers firmly boost sales to the US market in the coming time, especially the period of buying from American importers for the demands of Tet holidays.

In addition, the US-China trade war is also an opportunity for shrimp exporters of Vietnam to promote exports to this market because the US imposed high tariffs on Chinese goods.

The US is one of the major markets of Vietnam shrimp with turnover of over US$600 million per year. As a result, the reduction of anti-dumping tax is a favorable condition for Vietnamese shrimp to increase its competitiveness in this market.

Market demand is showing signs of good movement. If Vietnam's shrimp export price and world shrimp price are improved in the coming time, shrimp exports of Vietnam in the last quarter of this year will achieve positive growth.