The bright picture of Vietnam seafood exports to the US

It is estimated that seafood exports to the US in May 2021 will continue to go ahead and it is forecast that exports from June will accrete more strongly after this market is fully opened from May 20, 2021.

Processed shrimp and pangasius fillets have the highest turnover

In April 2021, exports of key products to the US market rose. In which, shrimp exports increased by 47% to 63.5 million USD, pangasius export turnover grew the most (up 136%) to 30.4 million USD, tuna value soared by 56% to over 31 million USD, squid exports , octopus increased by 83%...

In the first 4 months of 2021, shrimp exports to the US brought about 198 million USD, up nearly 25% and accounting for 21% of Vietnam's total seafood exports. Pangasius export turnover to this market fetched 102 million USD, up 37% over the same period and accounting for 21% of total pangasius exports. Meanwhile, the US accounted for nearly 42% of Vietnam's total tuna exports with $94.5 million in the first four months of the year, up 15% over the same period last year.

Shrimp accounted for the highest proportion in seafood export value to the US, with 41%, pangasius 21%, marine products 38%.

The US is leading the import markets of Vietnam's shrimp, pangasius, tuna and crab and is the second largest importer of marine fish.

In the first 4 months of this year, there were about 220 seafood export enterprises to the US, of which 67 companies had export sales of 1 million USD or more. The top 3 enterprises with a dominant proportion include Soc Trang Seafood Joint Stock Company (accounting for over 13% of turnover), Vinh Hoan Joint Stock Company, accounting for 8.6%, and Bien Dong Seafood Company accounting for about 7.0%. The top 10 exporters to the US (table below) account for nearly 60% of the country's total seafood export value to this market.

Top 10 seafood products (according to HS codes in the table below) accounted for 80% of seafood export value to the US. Of which, processed whiteleg shrimp and black tiger shrimp made up the highest proportion with 21.2%, followed by frozen pangasius fillet accounted for nearly 21%, yellowfin tuna loin/steak/cube for 8.9%, fresh whiteleg shrimp for 7%, breaded shrimp for 6.1%, frozen marine fish fillet 4.6%, shrimp sushi 4.2%, canned tuna 2.5%, PD whiteleg shrimp 2.5%...

Consumption and import of seafood will skyrocket in the second half of the year

The widespread and rapid deployment of vaccines against Covid-19 in the US and the government's economic stimulus package boosted the US economy to 6.5% growth in the first quarter of 2021. Therefore, seafood orders increased not only in the retail sector but also in the food service, restaurant and hotel segments.

By May 20, 2021, all 50 states of the United States have reopened gradually, factories are operating normally again, many large supermarkets of retailers no longer restrict customers, tourism and beaches are open to guests... These are signs of a stronger increase in US seafood consumption and imports from now until the end of the year.

According to statistics of the US Department of Agriculture, in the first quarter of 2021, the US imported 696 thousand tons of seafood of all kinds, worth nearly 5.5 billion USD, up 8% in both volume and value over the same period last year. In 2020, the US imported 2.8 million tons of seafood, worth $21.4 billion, up 2.5% in volume, but down 2.5% in value compared to 2019.

With the current growth momentum and recovery, it is forecasted that seafood imports to the US market in 2021 will increase by 6% in volume to 2.9 million tons, and in value by 9% to US$23.3 billion, higher than import levels of the years before the Covid pandemic. The demand for tourism and restaurant dining, which has been "suppressed" for a long time, will "explode" in the coming months, so the import value will increase more strongly than the volume. Therefore, in the near future, the US will be the target market for exporting countries, such as Vietnam, India, Ecuador, Indonesia and Thailand.