Vietnam seafood exports in Jan-Feb 2016 up 7.2%

In particular, shrimp exports rose by 8.5%; pangasius up 5.6%; other finfish up 16.6%; crabs and other crustaceans up 16.5%. However, marine products like tuna, cephalopod were on a downward trend. In which, tuna export fell by 4%; cephalopod downed nearly 7%. The total seafood exports in Jan-Feb 2016 reached US$915.6 million, an increase of 7.2% over Jan-Feb last year.

Shrimp

In the first 2 months of 2016, the total shrimp exports of Vietnam hit US$378.4 million, up 8.5% year on year. Shrimp exports to some markets reported a slight fall (the EU: -1.8%; Japan: -2.4%; Korea -0.6%, Canada: -17.3%), the sales to some markets showed a significant climb (the U.S.: +24.8%; China - Hong Kong: +36.5%). In the period, the U.S. remained its position as the biggest shrimp importer of Vietnam, while China - Hong Kong (with the revenue of US$64.8 million, accounting for 17.1% of total Vietnam exports) emerged to the 2^nd from the 4^th place among top 5 largest importers (the U.S., Japan, EU, China - Hong Kong and South Korea) of Vietnam shrimp.

In Sep 2015, the US Department of Commerce (DOC) issued the final results of the ninth anti-dumping duty administrative reviews (POR9) on frozen shrimp imported from Vietnam (from Feb, 1^st 2013 to Jan, 31^st 2014). Accordingly, the average tax duty (0.91%) decreased from the preliminary results issued in Mar 2015 (0.93%) and downed sharply from 6.37% from POR8. Thanks to this result, Vietnam shrimp exporters expected shrimp sales to the U.S. to be on the upward trend. However, Vietnam shrimp exports to the U.S. in 2015 was down 25.3% compared to 2014. In Jan-Feb 2016, shrimp exports to the U.S. began to increase compared to the same period last year.

Pangasius

Vietnam pangasius exports in the first 2 months of 2016 reached US$237.35 million, up 5.6% from the same period last year. Pangasius exports to major markets were on the rise: the U.S. up 14.7%; the EU with 0.4%; China - Hong Kong with 32.6%; ASEAN with 9.8% and Brazil with 642.7% over the same period of 2015. Currently, the Vietnam pangasius exports to the U.S. (accounting for 23.6% of total exports) are not affected by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) catfish inspection program. There are 45 processing plants of Vietnam eligible to export to the U.S as announced by the USDA. Pangasius exporters are waiting for the final results POR11 (from Aug, 1^st 2013 to Jul, 31^st 2014) from the DOC. If the anti-dumping duties are higher, Vietnam pangasius exports to the U.S. are predicted to continue the fall.

Marine products

Marine product exports of Vietnam in Jan-Feb 2016 reached nearly US$299.9 million, up 7% compared Jan-Feb 2015. Other marine finfish exports (excluding tuna) touched US$155.6 million, up 16.6%; crabs and other crustaceans with US$18.3 million, up 16.5% over Jan-Feb 2015. Meanwhile, Vietnam tuna exports decreased by 4.8%, hit US$60.7 million, in which processed tuna (HS code 16) down 24% over the same period last year. Vietnam tuna exports to some major markets decreased: the US down 0.4%; the EU with 11.5%; ASEAN with 13.7%; Japan with 20% from the same period in 2015.

Written by Ta Ha

Compiled by Dieu Thuy