The imminent arrival of Vietnam's inaugural tilapia export shipment at a Brazilian port holds not only commercial significance but also serves as evidence of joint efforts to promote economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, especially as bilateral ties have been upgraded to a strategic partnership and Brazil's recognition of Vietnam as a market economy.
This was affirmed by Vietnamese Ambassador to Brazil Bui Van Nghi in an interview with TTXVN reporters in South America, on the occasion of the first 24-ton container of Vietnamese tilapia departing Ho Chi Minh City's port on November 6 to be exported to Brazil via JBS Group, Brazil's largest food corporation.
Ambassador Bui Van Nghi emphasized that this represents a concrete result of enterprise connections, market expansion and affirmation of the quality of Vietnamese agricultural and aquatic products in the Brazilian and broader Latin American markets.
This is one of 32 containers, totaling 700 tons of tilapia - ordered by JBS, with products set to enter supermarket shelves, the Horeca distribution channel, and JBS’s showrooms in Brazil. The current container is expected to arrive at Santos Port on December 17.
JBS Group currently employs 280,000 personnel, operates 150 factories across many countries and leads the world in beef and chicken production; it is also investing $150 million in two beef processing plants in Vietnam.
According to Ambassador Bui Van Nghi, this event represents a new development in economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and Brazil, materializing the mutual agricultural market opening agreement between the two countries that Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Brazilian President Lula da Silva committed to during their high-level meeting on the sidelines of the expanded BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro in July 2025.
Both sides agreed to continue opening agricultural markets to each other. Vietnam will open its market to Brazilian beef, while Brazil will open its market to Vietnamese tilapia, tra and basa fish.
Ambassador Bui Van Nghi also stated that the Vietnamese Embassy in Brazil will continue to accompany businesses and localities of both countries, supporting promotion, connections and resolution of difficulties to enable more Vietnamese products to penetrate deeper and wider into the Brazilian and South American markets.
Meanwhile, Marcio Rodrigues, JBS Group's Executive Director in charge of market access, assessed that this event reflects the increasingly solid partnership between JBS and Vietnam, strengthened through specific activities such as investments in Vietnam, job creation and expanded imports of Vietnamese products.
Currently, the two countries are promoting negotiations toward signing a Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) bloc, in the context of Brazil serving as the rotating chair of the bloc in 2025, while enhancing connections between businesses, associations and relevant ministries and sectors to facilitate bilateral trade development in a direction of market diversification, balanced interests and sustainable development.
(vasep.com.vn) The global tilapia market continues to grow, creating significant opportunities for countries with strengths in aquaculture, processing, and exports. Against this backdrop, Vietnam’s tilapia industry is gradually developing toward higher quality, greater product diversification, and broader market reach. At Vietfish 2026, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), together with the VASEP Tilapia Producers and Exporters Club, will host a joint booth to promote the image and potential of Vietnamese tilapia to domestic and international buyers.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s seafood exports are heading towards $12 billion this year, potentially the highest level on record. Yet one of the country’s export strengths is facing a growing list of challenges.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The first six months of 2026 indicate that Vietnam’s tilapia industry is entering a new phase of development, with strong export growth but also greater demands for production scale, quality and international competitiveness.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietfish 2026, the Vietnam International Seafood Exhibition, will officially take place from 19–21 August 2026 in Ho Chi Minh City. As Vietnam’s largest annual seafood trade event, organized by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), Vietfish 2026 will once again bring together leading seafood companies, industry experts, and international partners from across the global seafood value chain.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s seafood exports reached USD 1.1 billion in July 2026, up 4.8% compared to the same period in 2025. Cumulative exports in the first seven months of the year totaled nearly USD 6.86 billion, an increase of 11.5% year-on-year. Exceeding the USD 1 billion mark in July further reinforces the prospect that Vietnam’s seafood exports could surpass USD 12 billion in 2026. However, the July figures also send a clear signal that the most favorable growth period may have passed: overall export growth slowed to just 4.8%, pangasius exports fell 6.1%, tuna exports were virtually flat, while exports to the EU, South Korea, and the Middle East all recorded double-digit declines.
(vasep.com.vn) As part of the Vietnam Fisheries International Exhibition (Vietfish 2026), the seminar "Global Seafood Market and the Future Workforce: Trends, Opportunities, and Sustainable Development Pathways for Vietnam's Seafood Industry" will take place from 2:00 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. on August 19, 2026, at Convention Room B, Level 2, SECC, Ho Chi Minh City. This is the first of five specialized seminars at Vietfish 2026, focusing on key issues that are shaping the long-term development of Vietnam's seafood industry.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnamese seafood exports recorded impressive growth, generating nearly 6 billion USD in revenue during the first six months of the year, up 13% compared with the same period last year.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Fishermen in Ha Tinh are gradually overcoming difficulties to maintain the efficiency of seafood exploitation. In the first six months of 2026, the entire province achieved a production of more than 23,000 tons of seafood, worth more than 1,200 billion VND.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) June 2026 brought encouraging signs for Vietnam's tuna exports, with export value rising 20% year-on-year to nearly USD 72 million. However, this increase has yet to offset the prolonged slowdown seen in key markets such as the European Union (EU), where import demand remains weak. The outlook for the second half of the year is expected to become more challenging as freight rates continue to climb.
(vasep.com.vn) As part of the Vietnam Fisheries International Exhibition (Vietfish 2026), the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), in collaboration with the Agency for Domestic Market Management and Development under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, will organize the Domestic Seafood Supply–Demand Matching Program on the morning of August 20, 2026, at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC), Ho Chi Minh City. The program aims to foster direct business connections between Vietnamese seafood producers and processors and domestic distributors, retailers, and foodservice channels.
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