Seafood export turnover had reached US$2.9 billion as of end-June, up 10.6% year-on-year. This means the country has to export some US$3.9 billion worth of seafood products from now to the year’s end to achieve the new target of US$6.8 billion.
However, seafood exporters deemed such a target unobtainable by the year’s end due to multiple difficulties at present, especially capital shortage and shrinking markets.
Duong Ngoc Minh, vice chairman of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), said shipping charges in 2012 had increased 70% from 2011, while the costs of labor, power and environment had picked up 40%. The euro has depreciated by 25%, while Vietnam dong remains stable, putting exporters under capital pressure, said Minh at the review conference on tra fish production and consumption in the year’s first half held in Dong Thap in late June.
Meanwhile, VASEP general secretary Truong Dinh Hoe said tra fish export to the European Union (EU) had dropped 12%. VASEP ascribed such a decline to the eurozone public debt crisis and tariff pressure.
The decline in exports to EU can be covered by higher export volumes to the U.S. and Hong Kong. However, seafood firms said the problems in the local market were more worrying.
Minh of VASEP said: “The seafood industry is approaching “death”, a “death” at home. We have a great advantage in consumption market but the operation mechanism of banks, from lending rates to credit limits, has choked off capital circulation of enterprises. As such, enterprises and farmers are forced to sell their products at any price to repay debts.”
Without solution to remove the difficulties for the seafood sector, more traders would dump their products and more farmers would lack capital for reinvestment, making it hard to achieve the export target of this year, stated Minh.
According to the agriculture department of Tra Vinh, the shrimp cultivation area of the province is facing more severe diseases. As of mid-May, over 8,000 hectares of shrimp farming had been killed, equivalent to 15,000 tons of materials, bringing a loss of VND800-900 billion, said Nguyen Van Phong, vice chairman of Tra Vinh’s government.
Incomplete statistics show that diseases have caused damage worth some VND5 trillion in shrimp farming provinces, with tens of thousands of hectares of shrimp having died of diseases. Tra Vinh, Bac Lieu and Soc Trang are the provinces that suffer the most.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam's tilapia exports to Japan posted strong growth in the first half of 2026, while a promising new trend has emerged in the value-added product segment. Notably, Vietnamese tilapia fillets have been exported to Japan for use in sushi and sashimi, creating new opportunities to enhance the value of the industry in one of the world's most demanding seafood markets.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) After a relatively sluggish first quarter, Vietnam's exports of fish cakes and surimi showed a clearer recovery in the second quarter, particularly in June. Export value in the first six months of 2026 reached USD 148 million, down 2% year on year. However, the newly imposed 12.5% additional U.S. tariff on Vietnamese goods, intensifying competition in Northeast Asia, and increasingly stringent traceability requirements in the EU are making the outlook for the second half of the year more uncertain.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In June 2026, Vietnam's shrimp exports reached nearly USD 458 million, up 24% year-on-year. In the first six months of 2026, export value totaled USD 2.35 billion, an increase of 14.2% compared with the same period last year. Growth was driven mainly by the Chinese market and the strong performance of lobster exports, while shrimp exports continued to face pressure from U.S. tariffs and rising logistics costs.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) As part of Vietfish 2026, the Hosted Buyer Program is designed as a specialized B2B matchmaking initiative for selected international buyers, providing opportunities to meet directly with Vietnamese seafood exporters, gain the latest market insights, and experience Vietnam's seafood supply chain firsthand.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) A project titled "Sustainable Shrimp Industry Governance" has been launched in Ca Mau Province with the aim of supporting the transition of the province's shrimp industry toward higher quality, lower emissions, stronger governance capacity, improved supply chain traceability, and the development of a sustainable shrimp brand that meets the increasingly stringent requirements of export markets.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Khanh Hoa Provincial Agricultural Extension Center, in collaboration with the Northern Center for Marine Aquaculture Research and the Van Hung Public Service Center, recently organized a training course on disease-free golden pompano seed production. The program is part of a National Agricultural Extension Project aimed at developing industrial-scale seed production models to support sustainable marine aquaculture.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s pangasius exports have shown encouraging signs of recovery in 2026. In the first four months of the year, total export turnover reached USD 720 million, up 17% compared to the same period last year. This result reflects improving demand across many markets, as well as the efforts of Vietnamese pangasius enterprises to maintain production, secure orders, and adapt to changing market conditions.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The application of high technology in shrimp farming is delivering positive results in the coastal areas of Vinh Long Province, contributing to improved production efficiency and creating significant potential for further industry expansion. However, to fully capitalize on this potential, the province is focusing on aquaculture zoning, infrastructure investment, and promoting modern, sustainable production.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Đồng Tháp Province has intensified efforts to curb illegal fishing by strengthening vessel monitoring, law enforcement and seafood traceability.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Seafood businesses need solutions to overcome bottlenecks such as labor shortages, difficulty accessing capital, high input costs, and administrative procedures in order to maintain production, adapt to market fluctuations, and effectively exploit export opportunities.
VASEP - HIỆP HỘI CHẾ BIẾN VÀ XUẤT KHẨU THỦY SẢN VIỆT NAM
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