The event is part of VASEP’s specific actions to implement its 2025–2030 (7th Term) policy orientation toward expanding the domestic market and responding to the campaign “Vietnamese people prioritize using Vietnamese goods.”
As Vietnam’s seafood industry continues to face difficulties in major export markets like the US, EU, and China—due to technical barriers, tariffs, and volatile demand—effectively tapping into the domestic market of over 100 million people is considered a strategic solution to ensure sustainable product distribution.
The domestic market is not only large in scale but is also seeing rapid growth of the middle class—a consumer group increasingly demanding high-quality, safe, and traceable products. This presents a significant opportunity for Vietnamese seafood enterprises, who possess extensive export experience, to return and serve domestic consumers with internationally certified products.
The conference was attended and chaired by representatives from the Department of Domestic Market Development (under MOIT) and VASEP leaders, along with 120 participants representing local Departments of Industry and Trade, major supermarket chains (Co.opmart, Big C, Winmart, Lotte, Aeon Mall), distributors for the HORECA channel, seafood processors and producers, and media agencies.
The event focused on three main themes:
Supply–demand connection: Retail and distribution systems shared their specific product needs, technical standards, pricing policies, and consumption plans. Meanwhile, producers presented their supply capacity, product portfolios, and logistics plans to meet domestic market demands.
Partnership agreements: Producers and distributors signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs), marking progress in building a stable supply chain for the domestic seafood market.
Product showcasing and sampling: An exhibition area featured a variety of signature Vietnamese seafood products, including canned goods, dried seafood, ready-to-eat foods, value-added products, and processed items. Consumers, partners, and regulators could sample and experience products onsite.
More than 40 exporters from the VASEP’s Club of domestic seafood suppliers and other VASEP members participated in showcasing their products. In addition, 9 distribution companies joined the conference and connected with seafood suppliers.
A highlight of the event was the signing of 16 MoUs between seafood exporters and distributors following a fruitful session of sharing needs and expectations between supply and demand representatives.
A representative from the Department of Domestic market development noted that the Ministry of Industry and Trade has been actively supporting domestic seafood and agricultural consumption through activities such as supermarket sampling, promoting e-commerce, and media support for exporters.
On VASEP’s side, the association has operated the Club of domestic seafood suppliers since 2011. The club now has 27 members supplying a diverse range of products including shrimp, pangasius, tuna, squid, fish sauce, and various ready-to-eat and value-added items for both export and local consumption. Notably, the club has launched a dedicated website at clbhangnoidia.vasep.com.vn with the slogan “Export quality for Vietnamese consumers” to promote products and connect businesses with local buyers.
In his remarks, a VASEP representative emphasized: “The domestic market is not just a temporary solution but a strategic long-term direction for Vietnam’s seafood industry. We hope this conference will provide fresh momentum for businesses to invest more seriously in domestic products while building strong links between producers, distributors, and consumers.”
The event not only helped re-establish the role of seafood in the daily meals of Vietnamese families but also reaffirmed the value of “high-quality Vietnamese products”, aiming to develop a professional, efficient, and sustainable domestic seafood supply chain.
Some photos from the conference:
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam is stepping up efforts to combat illegal fishing, protect marine ecosystems, expand digital monitoring, and develop science-based management to ensure the sea can support communities and the economy for generations to come.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The EU remains a critical market for Vietnamese shrimp; however, purchasing demand and import patterns are undergoing notable changes. According to Vietnam Customs data, as of September 15, 2026, Vietnam’s shrimp exports to the EU reached nearly $374 million, down 5% year-over-year and accounting for 10.7% of the country’s total shrimp export value. Meanwhile, the EU’s stotal shrimp imports through July 2026 contracted by 7% in volume, exhibiting divergent trends across Southern Europe, Northwestern Europe and Eastern Europe. These dynamics necessitate that Vietnamese enterprises closely monitor individualized market demand, rather than approaching the EU as a monolithic consumer block.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In the first eight months of 2026, Vietnam’s exports of surimi and fish cakes remained relatively stable year-over-year compared to 2025. Following a contraction in the initial months, export performance demonstrated improvement from June onward, peaking in August. However, the recovery has been uneven, characterized by divergent trends across major markets: robust growth was recorded in China, Japan, Malaysia, the United States, and Taiwan, whereas export volumes to South Korea, Indonesia, and select European markets contracted.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Pangasius remains one of Dong Thap’s key aquaculture species, with the province focusing on developing an integrated value chain covering seed production, commercial farming, deep processing and by-product utilization. The province is promoting high-tech, circular pangasius farming models featuring reduced water exchange and enhanced biosecurity, aiming to improve production efficiency and strengthen control over raw material quality.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s seafood exports in September 2026 are estimated at US$1.135 billion, up 11.9% year-on-year, bringing total exports in the first nine months of the year to US$9.103 billion, up 11.4%. Behind this double-digit growth, however, increasingly divergent market trends are emerging: China–Hong Kong and ASEAN posted strong growth, while the U.S., EU and Japan all recorded declines in September.
(vasep.com.vn) In the first eight months of 2026, Brazil became the largest market for Vietnamese tilapia, with export value reaching US$44 million, up 22,142% year-on-year and accounting for 49% of Vietnam’s total tilapia exports. In August alone, exports to Brazil reached US$4 million. However, behind this remarkable growth is a market that is imposing increasingly stringent requirements on imported supplies.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s tuna exports sustained their upward trajectory in August 2026, though the pace remained modest at just 2%. The month saw divergent trends across key markets: the US maintained its leading position, Japan and Canada improved, Russia surged and the EU continued to experience a steep downturn. These developments suggest that exporters are entering the final months of the year amid a market environment marked by greater uncertainty.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Congalsa has acquired the entire charter capital of Lenger Seafood Vietnam, giving it full ownership of the business and its Nam Dinh processing facility.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Ninh Binh Province is entering a peak period of action against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, focusing on thoroughly addressing violations, closely monitoring fishing vessels at ports and preventing vessels from violating regulations and operating illegally in foreign waters ahead of the European Commission’s (EC) upcoming inspection in 2026.
(vasep.com.vn) The application of biotechnology in seed production is increasingly viewed as a strategic imperative to upgrade pangasius fingerling quality, optimize farming efficiency and anchor sustainable industry development.
VASEP - HIỆP HỘI CHẾ BIẾN VÀ XUẤT KHẨU THỦY SẢN VIỆT NAM
Chịu trách nhiệm: Ông Nguyễn Hoài Nam - Phó Tổng thư ký Hiệp hội
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