Vietnam raised exports of canned tuna to Portugal

Specifically, canned tuna imports of Portugal in 2019 reached 14,438 tons, down 3% compared to 2018. Meanwhile, the average price of canned tuna imports into this market in 2019 was 1% lower than that of in 2018.

Canned tuna products in Portugal are mainly in the form of rectangular shapes. Therefore, penetrating this market can be a challenge for canned producers if they do not have the equipment to produce such cans. Besides, the country also has a strong domestic manufacturing industry, providing the majority for the domestic market.

After cod, tuna is the most consumed species in Portugal. Canned tuna is a key product and is consumed by Portuguese people from 1 to 4 meals/month. Following the modern lifestyle's food usage habits, canned tuna products are becoming more and more convenient and these products are benefiting from the increased demand for pre-packaged and easy to process products.

Most canned tuna products in Portugal are supplied by the country's three largest retailers: Jerónomi Martins, Sonae, and Intermarché.

By the end of 2019, Spain continued to dominate this market, accounting for nearly 75% of total canned tuna imports of Portugal. In 2019, Spanish canned tuna exports to Portugal jumped by 8%, helping the country to offset the decline in 2018.

The average price of canned tuna exports from Spain to Portugal in 2019 decreased by 1% than that of in 2018. However, at the price of 5,329 EUR/MT (equivalent to US$ 5,798/MT), canned tuna products in Spain had the lowest price in this market. Canned tuna products from Spain are transported by truck to the buyer 's warehouse in Portugal, so this price included freight rate.

Shipments imported from other suppliers were very small compared to Spain.

Mauritius was the third-largest canned tuna supply for Portugal. Exports of this country in the past 2 years decreased from 2,000 MT in 2017 to 664 MT in 2019 and 139 MT lower than the volume of canned tuna from Ecuador to this market.

Vietnam and Indonesia were the two non-EU suppliers for the Portuguese market and both had a growth rate in 2019. Vietnamese processors are supplying products with the lowest average price among the 10 main suppliers for this market at 1,343 EUR/MT.

In 2019, canned tuna was a key export product of Vietnam to this market, in 2020 Portugal tends to increase the import of frozen tuna fillets/loin HS code 0304 from Vietnam

According to the statistics of Vietnam Customs, the export of frozen tuna fillets/loin HS0304 to this market in the first 3 months of 2020 accounted for over 67% of the total export value. While Vietnam's export of canned and processed tuna products to this market in the first three months of the year dipped by 21% over the same period in 2019, exports of frozen tuna fillets/loin, HS0304, spiked by nearly 123%.

The key export products of Vietnam to this market in the first months of 2020 were yellowfin loin and frozen skipjack tuna loins. The average price of these products exported to Portugal in the first 3 months was US$3.4/kg.

The reason for this growth was because Portuguese tuna importers want to take advantage of the Autonomous Tariff Quota (ATQ) for frozen tuna loins. Besides, COVID-19 continued to happen in Portugal, Portugal has raised the alert level and coped with the COVID-19 to the highest level. With this situation, the Portuguese government continued to imposed isolation measures. This is expected to affect the country's imports of canned tuna, reducing imports of large-sized canned and pouch products, increasing imports of small-sized canned tuna products ( products suitable for consumer needs at home). However, the manufacturing plants are still operating to meet the consumption needs of the people, the demand for tuna loin imports of this country is expected to continue to increase.