Lying at the junction of Asia, Africa and Europe, the Middle East serves as a gate for goods to penetrate neighboring regions. It is also a promising new market for Vietnamese seafood.
Despite the negative impact of the European public debt crisis, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) reports that Vietnam’s seafood exports have maintained steady growth and are estimated to hit USD 500 million in May to raise the total value in the first five months of this year to USD 2.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 9.8 percent.
Seafood exports to the Middle East witnessed a dramatic rise in earnings, which helps cover revenue losses in the European market and provides impetus for for the seafood sector to continue growing.
The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said seafood products shipped to the Middle East have increased in value from USD 192 million in 2009 to USD 225 million in 2010 and USD 274 million in 2011.
Vietnam is boosting seafood exports to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Israel, Sudan, Lebanon, Iraq and Kuwait, it said.
Of those countries, the UAE is Vietnam's largest customer and a crucial gateway for transporting goods to other Middle Eastern and North African nations.
The UAE is a major crude oil exporter, as well as the second biggest economy in the Muslim world, and ranks 17th among the world's 61 most competitive economies. However, its seafood production can only meet 25 percent of its total demand so it must import the remainider from other countries.
The UAE mainly imports butterfish, anchovies, garrupa, tuna, lobster, mollusks, tra fish and salmon from Vietnam.
Tuna exports to the UAE have increased noticeably in value from USD 522,000 in 2009 to over USD 2 million two years later.
Meanwhile, tuna exports to Sudan reached nearly USD 1.5 million in revenue in the first four months of this year, an enormous year-on-year increase of 655 percent, making it one of the top ten importers of Vietnamese tuna.
This shows positive results from efforts by domestic tuna producers to seek business opportunities for exports to new markets in the Middle East. Seafood exports from Vietnam have many advantages in the region and they are now in ever increasing demand.
Many Middle Eastern countries are heading east for trade and investment, which creates more opportunites for Vietnamese goods to penetrate and increase their shares in those markets.
With average annual economic growth of 6-14 percent, the Middle East region is considered a market with great potential for Vietnam.
Although, there are no strict regulations for product quality and packaging, Vietnamese businesses still face uphill battles because of legal and technical obstacles, as well as the ways of doing business in this market.
They also suffer from a high risk of payment, unstable security, a lack of information, fierce competition due to low import taxes and a poor network of Vietnamese representative offices in the region.
To overcome these problems, the Vietnamese Directorate of Fisheries and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) recently sent a number of trade delegations to survey the Middle Eastern market.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) After a fairly strong upward trend in 2025, Vietnam’s clam exports entered 2026 with a mixed picture: strong growth at the beginning of the year, followed by a slowdown from March onward. According to Vietnam Customs data, Vietnam’s clam export turnover in the first four months of 2026 reached more than USD 38 million, up 2% compared to the same period in 2025.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s pangasius industry is facing new opportunities to expand its development space as many localities and businesses begin promoting marine farming models aimed at diversifying farming areas and adapting to climate change. However, for pangasius to truly “go offshore” and develop into a large-scale industry segment, significant challenges related to technology, broodstock, and markets still need to be addressed.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s tilapia exports in April 2026 reached USD 11 million, up 92% compared to the same period in 2025. This strong growth indicates that Vietnamese tilapia products are continuing to penetrate and expand rapidly in international markets. Cumulative export turnover in the first four months of 2026 reached USD 49 million, up 151% year-on-year.
(seafood.vasep.com) At VietShrimp Asia 2026, disease management trends in shrimp farming are shifting strongly from treatment-based approaches toward proactive prevention through environmental and pond ecosystem control.
(vasep.com.vn) After a period of strong growth, with export turnover reaching USD 38 million in Q1/2026 — up 174% year-on-year — the sector’s rapid expansion clearly reflects growing market opportunities.
(vasep.com.vn) In the first quarter of 2026, Vietnam’s pangasius exports to the ASEAN bloc reached USD 44 million, up 7% compared to the same period in 2025. After falling to the lowest level of the quarter at USD 9 million in February — reflecting the seasonal slowdown in orders after the festive period — exports recovered strongly to USD 18 million in March, the highest monthly value of the quarter. This development shows that import demand for pangasius in ASEAN remains relatively stable despite short-term fluctuations.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On May 11, 2026, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced a positive comparability finding for Vietnam’s swimming crab fisheries, along with those of Indonesia and Sri Lanka, under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). With this decision, seafood and seafood products harvested from Vietnam’s swimming crab fisheries will continue to be eligible for import into the US market.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) After a slowdown in 2025, Vietnam’s tuna exports to Germany showed more positive signs in the first quarter of 2026. However, the recovery remains uncertain as consumer demand in Germany is still cautious, while market competition is increasingly driven by pricing and supply stability.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) After a sharp decline in 2025, Vietnam’s tuna exports to Israel are showing positive signs of recovery in the early months of 2026. According to Vietnam Customs data, export turnover to this market grew steadily month by month in Q1/2026, reaching nearly USD 10 million, up 33% compared to the same period in 2025. However, compared to Q1/2024, this level remains significantly lower, indicating that the recovery is still in its early stage following last year’s strong adjustment.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Entering 2026, the U.S. whitefish market has shown complex developments as global cod supply continues to tighten, while the U.S. trade environment becomes less stable. In this context, the U.S. market has had to become more flexible in sourcing alternative whitefish. However, relying heavily on Alaska pollock is not a long-term solution, as it is a strictly managed fishery with quotas and sustainability regulations, limiting any rapid increase in output to offset cod shortages.
VASEP - HIỆP HỘI CHẾ BIẾN VÀ XUẤT KHẨU THỦY SẢN VIỆT NAM
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