April 2025 alone saw impressive growth, with exports hitting USD 900.4 million, a 16% increase year-on-year. Shrimp remained the top export, contributing USD 1.3 billion, up 33.5%, fueled by strong demand from Japan and China. Notably, lobster exports surged by 295% to USD 335 million, becoming a new bright spot. Pangasius exports grew moderately by 10.4% to USD 640 million, supported by a 49% rise in value-added processed products. Shelled mollusks like clams, mussels, and cockles reached USD 84.8 million, up 85.5%, showing great potential in niche markets such as the EU and Japan.
By market, the CPTPP bloc led with USD 931 million, up 29%, with Japan alone accounting for USD 531 million. China and Hong Kong surged to USD 716 million, increasing 57.4% thanks to strong demand before and after Lunar New Year. The EU and South Korea also recorded stable growth at USD 352 million and USD 262 million respectively. Emerging markets such as Brazil, Egypt, and India showed promising growth, with pangasius exports to Brazil up 67% and tuna exports to Thailand up 214%.
Product restructuring was another highlight. Value-added processed products like battered pangasius, processed squid, and frozen octopus saw strong growth, reflecting consumer trends towards convenience and premium quality in major markets. This indicates Vietnamese companies are investing heavily in processing technology and product diversification to boost competitiveness.
However, challenges remain significant. The U.S., the second-largest market with exports worth USD 539 million, has introduced new tariffs including a 10% tax on processed products, leading to a 9% drop in exports in April. The risk of retaliatory tariffs up to 46%, anti-dumping and countervailing duties on shrimp and pangasius, alongside expanded SIMP program and strict traceability requirements, exert considerable pressure on exporters. The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) also poses a major challenge, with potential import bans from 2026 if compliance is not met.
In the EU, the ongoing IUU yellow card warning disrupts certification and shipment processes. Meanwhile, China, despite strong growth, faces competition from local products and quality control pressures. Rising production costs—covering raw materials, feed, logistics—combined with container shortages and higher freight rates are squeezing profit margins.
In response, businesses are flexibly shifting to promising markets like Japan, South Korea, ASEAN, and the Middle East, leveraging free trade agreements. Enhancing deep processing and developing value-added products not only boost export turnover but also reduce reliance on volatile traditional markets.
To sustain growth, the industry must focus on strategic solutions: investing in traceability systems, expanding deep processing, exploring new markets, stabilizing supply, and increasing government support such as debt relief, interest rate cuts, and simplified administrative procedures to help businesses overcome financial difficulties.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) For many years, Vietnam’s seafood industry has been recognized as one of the country’s key export pillars. Products such as shrimp, pangasius, tuna, squid, octopus, and a wide range of other seafood have reached hundreds of markets worldwide. Yet behind these impressive export figures lies a significant challenge: a substantial share of Vietnam’s seafood export value still comes from minimally processed products, contract manufacturing, and raw material exports—segments characterized by low profit margins and high vulnerability to fluctuations in global prices.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In the context of a global economy shifting powerfully toward green and sustainable values, Vietfish 2026 is far more than just a commercial trade fair. It has become a strategic rendezvous and a "comprehensive ecosystem"—a convergence of value, knowledge, and sustainable growth opportunities for the entire industry chain.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s pangasius exports to Colombia continued their strong upward momentum in May 2026. Export value to the market reached USD 4 million, up 24% compared to the same month in 2025. Cumulative exports in the first five months of 2026 totaled USD 24 million, an impressive 48% increase year-on-year.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Hai Phong's aquaculture sector is accelerating the adoption of high technologies in aquaculture to adapt to climate change, with red tilapia and tilapia identified as the key cultured species for priority development.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s seafood exports reached nearly US$1.1 billion in June 2026, up 21.0% year-on-year. Cumulative exports in the first half of 2026 totaled nearly US$5.8 billion, representing a 12.8% increase compared with the same period last year. Exports to China and Hong Kong continued to accelerate, while shipments to the United States rebounded strongly in June. In contrast, exports to the EU, Japan, and the Middle East remained sluggish or recorded slight declines.
(vasep.com.vn) Tilapia is playing an increasingly important role in Vietnam’s aquaculture sector, driven not only by growing market opportunities but also by its ability to meet increasingly stringent requirements on quality, food safety, and traceability. In practice, tilapia farming in Vietnam is not a spontaneous or loosely regulated activity; rather, it operates under a comprehensive legal and technical framework covering the entire value chain—from hatcheries and farming to processing and exports.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s shrimp exports reached USD 1.9 billion in the first five months of 2026, up 12% compared with the same period last year. Amid continued volatility in the global seafood market, this result demonstrates that the shrimp sector has maintained positive growth momentum, supported by improving demand in several Asian markets, particularly China.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On June 16, the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Ca Mau Province announced that the locality has established a farming area code for nearly 30,400 hectares of mud crab aquaculture and granted export facility codes to five enterprises eligible to export mud crab officially to markets such as China, Cambodia, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The United States remains one of the largest export markets for Vietnamese pangasius. In the first four months of 2026, pangasius exports to the US reached USD 106 million, up 4% compared to the same period in 2025. In April 2026 alone, export value totaled USD 38 million, marking a 20% year-on-year increase and the first positive growth recorded after an extended period of decline.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) While Vietnam’s shrimp exports to many major markets continued to post positive growth in the first months of 2026, exports to the United States declined, highlighting growing competitive pressures and trade barriers facing the Vietnamese shrimp industry.
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