Tuna exports to EU increased by 8.6% in QI/2021

In the first quarter of this year, exports of fresh and frozen tuna products with HS code 03 (except HS code 0304) to the EU increased by 64% and canned tuna exports increased by 27% over the same period. In contrast, exports of frozen tuna meat/fillets under HS code 0304 decreased by 6.4% and other processed tuna products under HS code 16 decreased by 25%. The Free Trade Agreement between the EU and Vietnam (EVFTA), effective from August 2020, allows the elimination of tariffs for fresh and frozen tuna products (except for frozen tuna loins/fillets with HS code 0304). ) and 11,500 tons of canned tuna from Vietnam, this has created an attraction for these Vietnamese products for EU tuna importers.

In the first months of 2021, Vietnam became the 4th largest supplier of tuna to the EU market.

Italy, Germany and the Netherlands are the three largest importers of Vietnamese tuna in the EU. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic still limits the supply of tuna to this market. Besides, in the context of Covid and high transportation costs, the fact that Vietnam's tuna products are entitled to preferential tariffs under the EVFTA agreement has made many EU importers choose Vietnamese tuna exporters.

Vietnam's tuna exports to Italy continued to grow spectacularly in the first 3 months of the year. Italy is also the second largest tuna importer in the EU. According to ITC statistics, Vietnam is the third largest tuna supplier to the Italian market after Indonesia and China. Italy imports a lot of fresh and frozen tuna from Vietnam, especially frozen quarter-cut yellowfin tuna products, accounting for 76% of total export value.

In the German market, Vietnam's tuna exports in the first three months of this year only increased slightly over the same period. Germany imports a lot of frozen tuna meat/fillets from Vietnam with HS code 03048700, accounting for 92% of total export value.

According to Eurostat statistics, EU countries mainly import processed and canned tuna products in 2020, accounting for 78%. When Covid-19 hit, retailers' sales skyrocketed along with imports. However, in the second half of the year, this trend has reversed and statistics show that canned tuna imports of this market in the fourth quarter have fallen sharply. For the whole of 2020, the Covid-19 Pandemic has caused consumers to stock up on canned tuna. But when things have calmed down and Europeans have learned to actively prepare for social distancing, retailers' sales have not skyrocketed as before. Many importers have delayed contractual imports and in many cases have not even made any new purchases. Therefore, in 2021, the Covid-19 pandemic will continue to spread in EU countries, but the EU's imports of processed and canned tuna in the first month of the year only increased slightly by 3% over the same period in 2020.