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) Although Germany’s tuna imports have declined, Vietnam’s tuna exports to the market continue to show positive signs. Notably, export value recovered strongly in Q3/2026, and German import data also show Vietnamese products strengthening their position amid competition among suppliers.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Seafood exports are holding double-digit growth, but the opportunities are not spread evenly across product groups and markets. As businesses draw up their plans for 2027, Vietnam Seafood Summit 2026 (VSS2026) offers a chance to look ahead together: what to sell, where to sell it, and how to prepare for growth in the coming years.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) With less than two weeks to go, the Vietnam Seafood Summit 2026 (VSS 2026) will officially take place in Can Tho. Under the theme “Seafood Market Outlook 2027–2029 – Opportunities and Potential for Double-Digit Export Growth,” the Summit is organized by VASEP at a time when seafood businesses are facing rapid market shifts, changing buyer demand, trade policy changes and growing competitive pressure all at once.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On October 28, 2026, the China Fisheries & Seafood Expo opened in Qingdao, China. The expo takes place over three days from October 28 to 30, 2026. This is a prestigious specialized seafood exhibition organized annually by Sea Fare Exposition Inc.
(vasep.com.vn) In the first nine months of 2026, Vietnam’s tilapia exports to the CPTPP bloc reached $7 million, marking a 51% year-on-year increase. The bloc rstands as the fourth-largest market for Vietnamese tilapia, trailing Brazil, the US, and Saudi Arabia.
(vasep.com.vn) VASEP has officially announced the program for Vietnam Seafood Summit 2026 (VSS 2026), featuring five in-depth sessions covering industry outlooks, trade barriers, buyer demand, the domestic market, and solutions to improve productivity and reduce costs across the seafood value chain.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s shrimp exports reached US$3.7 billion in the first nine months of 2026, up 11% year on year. Although growth has been supported by China and several markets within the CPTPP, momentum is slowing as exports to the United States and the European Union decline. Tariff pressures, international competition, and raw material challenges are creating significant hurdles for exporters in the final months of the year.
(vasep.com.vn) Markets are changing faster, buyer requirements are becoming more demanding, and trade barriers are growing increasingly complex. In this environment, seafood businesses need more than an understanding of current market conditions. They need a longer-term perspective to answer a critical question: Where will growth opportunities come from in 2027–2029, and what should businesses do now to prepare? This is one of the key reasons why VASEP is organizing Vietnam Seafood Summit 2026.
(vasep.com.vn) In the first eight months of 2026, Vietnam’s pangasius exports to the Middle East reached US$113 million, up 7% year on year from the same period in 2025. Growth has become more pronounced in recent months. In August alone, exports to the region totaled US$20 million, an increase of 24%. This indicates that demand for Vietnamese pangasius in the Middle East is gradually recovering after a slowdown in March, although the pace of recovery varies across markets.
(vasep.com.vn) China’s shrimp imports continued to grow strongly in 2026, while Vietnam’s shrimp exports to the market also recorded notable growth. However, behind these positive figures lie two distinct trends: Chinese consumption is growing more slowly than imports, and lobster accounts for a substantial share of Vietnam’s shrimp exports to China, making its product mix significantly different from those of Ecuador and India. Exporters therefore need to assess each segment carefully to understand the opportunities and risks.
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