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.
Entering 2026, Vietnam’s seafood industry is facing a period of both high expectations and mounting pressures. Following the positive recovery in 2025, production and export activities in Q1/2026 demonstrated the strong adaptability of Vietnam’s seafood business community amid continued global trade volatility, intensifying international competition, and increasingly stringent compliance requirements in import markets.
(vasep.com.vn) In the first quarter of 2026, Vietnam’s shrimp exports reached USD 1.069 billion, up 17.5% compared to the same period in 2025. This is a positive result amid an uneven global shrimp market recovery, intensifying competition among major suppliers, and continued volatility in the international trade environment. However, this growth does not reflect a broad-based recovery across the entire sector, but rather is driven mainly by strong performance in a few markets and specific product segments—most notably lobster exports to China.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s tuna exports continued to decline in March 2026. Cumulatively, in the first three months of the year, export value reached USD 208 million, down 4% compared to the same period in 2025. The export landscape shows clear divergence across markets: while the U.S. and EU remain challenging, markets such as Russia, the Middle East, Egypt, the Philippines, and Mexico have emerged as growth bright spots.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In Quang Ngai Province, shrimp farming costs are rising sharply due to लगातार increases in feed, fuel, and input material prices, while farm-gate shrimp prices are declining. This has significantly reduced farmers’ profit margins and increased production risks.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s tilapia exports are experiencing impressive growth, reflecting expanding global demand as well as the sector’s development potential. However, behind the strong growth figures lie limitations in production capacity and supply chains, highlighting the need for sustainable development in the coming period.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s pangasius exports to the Middle East in 2025 and early 2026 have shown notable growth. However, escalating geopolitical tensions in the region have increasingly impacted export activities since March. This situation presents a challenge of balancing market expansion opportunities with rising trade risks.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The Quang Tri Department of Agriculture and Environment has instructed localities to base their stocking schedules on actual conditions in each farming area, while developing plans, allocating resources, and implementing synchronized measures for disease prevention and disaster risk management in aquaculture production.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In the first two months of 2026, Vietnam’s exports of fish cakes and surimi exceeded USD 45 million, up 7% compared to the same period in 2025, indicating a positive outlook for this product segment amid recovering demand in many markets.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) During the week from April 4th to 10th, 2026, Quang Ngai province intensified its monitoring and law enforcement activities with the determination to eliminate illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Thanh Hoa’s shrimp sector is undergoing a strong transformation by accelerating the adoption of high technology, helping to improve productivity, increase profits, and meet market demands. The province currently has about 4,100 hectares of shrimp farming, with output continuing to rise despite stable farming area, mainly due to the shift from traditional methods to intensive and super-intensive farming.
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
