In 2025, Vietnam’s seafood export turnover reached approximately USD 11.3 billion, an increase of more than 12% compared to 2024. This result reflects a relatively solid recovery in international market demand and highlights the initial effectiveness of strategic adjustments in production and export activities toward a more balanced approach between volume and value. The export structure continued to shift in a positive direction, with aquaculture products, deeply processed products, and value-added products playing an increasingly prominent role, thereby gradually reducing dependence on low-value and high-compliance-risk product groups.
Within the overall industry landscape, key products such as shrimp and pangasius continued to serve as the foundation, while bivalves, squid–octopus, crabs, and processed products recorded encouraging growth, indicating development potential across more diversified segments aligned with global consumption trends. Notably, the share of processed and value-added products continued to improve, reflecting a transition from raw material exports to finished products that better meet the requirements of developed markets.
In terms of markets, 2025 further reaffirmed the increasingly important role of Asia in Vietnam’s seafood export structure, with China and Hong Kong standing out as large, flexible markets capable of absorbing a wide range of products. At the same time, next-generation free trade agreements such as the CPTPP, EVFTA, and UKVFTA continued to demonstrate their effectiveness, enabling enterprises to expand markets, leverage tariff preferences, and gradually enhance their position in the global supply chain. Meanwhile, traditional markets such as the United States and the EU remained important but imposed increasingly stringent requirements related to legal compliance, environmental standards, and social responsibility, compelling enterprises to invest more heavily in risk management and supply chain transparency.
Alongside these achievements, 2025 also clearly highlighted the long-term challenges facing the seafood industry. Trade defense measures, regulations against IUU fishing, marine mammal protection requirements, together with the impacts of climate change and rising production costs, continue to directly affect the competitiveness of enterprises. These challenges are not merely short-term issues but require systematic and long-term adaptive strategies across the entire industry.
The Report on Vietnam seafood exports in 2025, implemented by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), provides the business community, regulatory authorities, and domestic and international partners with a comprehensive, systematic, and up-to-date overview of seafood export performance over the past year, while also offering strategic assessments for the period ahead. We expect the report to serve as a valuable reference, supporting policy formulation, business strategy development, and the promotion of sustainable growth for Vietnam’s seafood industry in an increasingly deep integration context.
VASEP respectfully invites enterprises, regulatory agencies, research institutions, and international partners to register for the Report to access in-depth, reliable information and data, contributing to policy planning, trade promotion, and the enhancement of the competitiveness of Vietnam’s seafood sector in the new phase of integration.
Please subscribe the Report on Vietnam seafood exports HERE or contact: Ms. Hai Yen; Email: nguyenyen@vasep.com.vn; Mobile: +84 8 5858 2626
(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.
VASEP - HIỆP HỘI CHẾ BIẾN VÀ XUẤT KHẨU THỦY SẢN VIỆT NAM
Chịu trách nhiệm: Ông Nguyễn Hoài Nam - Phó Tổng thư ký Hiệp hội
Đơn vị vận hành trang tin điện tử: Trung tâm VASEP.PRO
Trưởng Ban Biên tập: Bà Phùng Thị Kim Thu
Giấy phép hoạt động Trang thông tin điện tử tổng hợp số 138/GP-TTĐT, ngày 01/10/2013 của Bộ Thông tin và Truyền thông
Tel: (+84 24) 3.7715055 – (ext.203); email: kimthu@vasep.com.vn
Trụ sở: Số 7 đường Nguyễn Quý Cảnh, Phường An Phú, Quận 2, Tp.Hồ Chí Minh
Tel: (+84) 28.628.10430 - Fax: (+84) 28.628.10437 - Email: vasephcm@vasep.com.vn
VPĐD: số 10, Nguyễn Công Hoan, Ngọc Khánh, Ba Đình, Hà Nội
Tel: (+84 24) 3.7715055 - Fax: (+84 24) 37715084 - Email: vasephn@vasep.com.vn
