In the first months of 2020, Korea was also affected hardly by the Covid-19 epidemic, demand for cephalopod imports of South Korea declined due to the closure of restaurant systems. A shutdown of the hotel and a closed school, and a drop in tourists will also reduce Korea's demand for cephalopod imports.
South Korea remained the largest importer of Vietnamese cephalopod, accounting for 42% of Vietnam's total export value of this commodity to the markets. Vietnamese cephalopod exports to South Korea dived by 6.2% in April 2020 and fell by 22.3% in the first four months of 2020 to reach US$ 63.4 million. In the first four months of this year, cephalopod exports to South Korea rose only by 14% in February, exports in the remaining three months shrunk.
The decrease in export price and demand due to the Covid-19 epidemic is one of the factors affecting Vietnam's cephalopod exports to South Korea in the first four months of 2020. The tariff advantage from the Vietnam-Korea Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA) partly helps to boost Vietnamese cephalopod exports to this market.
In the structure of squid and octopus products of Vietnam exports to South Korea, octopus still dominated by 68.8%, squid accounted for 31.2%. In the first quarter of 2020, in the total export of squid and octopus products of Vietnam to South Korea, only export of dried/baked squid (HS 03) jumped by 19.8%, the export value of the remaining products fell in which the export value of processed octopus (HS 16) dropped the most, with a decrease of over 37%.
South Korea mainly imports cephalopod products from Vietnam such as dried squid, skin, frozen cleaning processing squid, frozen sushi squid, frozen whole octopus, chilled octopus … Vietnamese squid products exports to South Korea have higher prices than that of octopus with the average price ranging from 11-14 USD/kg. The price of Vietnamese octopus exports to South Korea has an average price of US$6- US$6.5/kg.
Currently, Vietnam enjoys a 0% export tax to Korea for fresh/live and frozen octopus products (HS030751 and HS030759). Dried octopus/ salt/live/fresh/frozen accounts for the highest proportion of total squid and octopus products exports to South Korea.
Diseases also cause economic growth decline, lower people's income. Therefore, people will only consume affordable products, limiting the consumption of higher-priced items such as squid and octopus products. Suppliers can focus on selling to online channels, prioritizing frozen, canned, deep-processed products with long shelf life, reducing fresh products due to consumers changing their consumption habits in the context of the disease.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The year 2025 marked a pivotal milestone for Vietnam’s seafood industry in its restructuring process toward sustainability, transparency, and higher value creation, amid continued uncertainties in the global economic and trade environment. Prolonged inflation in major economies, the rising trend of trade protectionism, and increasingly stringent requirements related to environmental standards, traceability, and social responsibility have posed significant challenges to seafood production and exports. Nevertheless, overcoming these pressures, Vietnam’s seafood sector has gradually demonstrated its adaptability, maintained growth momentum, and laid an important foundation for the next stage of development.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Amid the increasingly evident impacts of drought and saltwater intrusion, the shrimp-rice production model in Ca Mau province continues to prove itself as a viable direction, contributing to higher farmer incomes, improved soil conditions and the promotion of ecological and sustainable agricultural development.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The management of fishing vessels, monitoring of fishing activities, and handling of violations in the fisheries sector in Lam Dong province have continued to be implemented in a synchronized and stringent manner, contributing to raising awareness of legal compliance among fishermen and aiming to end illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Can Tho’s fishery industry sustained steady growth in 2025 with total aquatic and marine output reaching nearly 783,000 tons, fulfilling 100% of the annual target. Aquaculture, capture fisheries and fishing fleet management were further strengthened, aiming for sustainable development in the coming years.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In 2025, Vietnam’s pangasius export turnover reached nearly USD 2.2 billion, up 8% year-on-year. This result indicates that pangasius exports maintained their growth momentum despite significant volatility in the global market environment. In December 2025, pangasius export value reached USD 200 million, up 10% compared to December 2024. This solid performance in the final month of the year reflects increased import demand for consumption and inventory replenishment in key markets.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In 2025, Vietnam’s tuna exports to Spain experienced significant fluctuations. According to Vietnam Customs, during the first 11 months of 2025, export turnover for the first 11 months of the year edged up by 0.3% year-on-year, reaching nearly $15 million.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son has signed Decision No. 16/QD-TTg, dated January 5, 2026, approving the implementation plan for the Vietnam-Israel Free Trade Agreement (VIFTA). Under the plan, in the coming period, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-affiliated entities and People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities must institutionalize and execute tasks focused on the dissemination of information regarding VIFTA and the Israeli market; legislative and institutional development, as well as enhancing competitiveness and human resource growth...
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Beyond achieving double-digit growth, Vietnam’s fish cake and surimi exports are showing a notable year-end "inflection point": the EU his accelerating with nearly twofold growth, China & Hong Kong are rising sharply, while the largest market, South Korea, signaled a slowdown in November. According to Vietnam Customs data, export turnover of fish cake and surimi reached $327 million in the first 11 months of 2025, up 22% year-on-year; November 2025 alone accounted for $35 million, marking a 5% increase. This serves as a critical foundation for exporters to reassess market structures and competitive intensity while finalizing order strategies for 2026.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Ca Mau, widely regarded as the nation’s “shrimp capital”, continued its strong performance in 2025 as shrimp output reached nearly 600,000 tons, maintaining its position as Vietnam’s leading shrimp-producing locality.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On December 29, 2025, at the 2025 Pangasius Industry Review Conference held in Can Tho City, the Vietnam Pangasius Association announced that fingerling prices have surged to record levels due to acute supply shortages.
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