Vietnam shrimp exports rose slightly in QI/2020

The US is the second-largest importer for Vietnamese shrimp imports. In March 2020, Vietnamese shrimp exports to the US reached US$ 41.3 million, up 11.5% over the same period in 2019. Accumulate in the first 3 months of 2020, Vietnamese shrimp exports to this market reached US$115.5 million, up 18.2% compared to the same period in 2019. This was the best growth among the top 5 main shrimp importers of Vietnam.

The Covid-19 epidemic spread widely in the US starting in March 2020, causing the import of goods including shrimp into this market to be delayed. Import demand also dropped due to a sharp decline in consumption in the Food Service segment as the US Government imposed disease control measures. However, the demand for shrimp in the retail segment has increased to meet the essential needs of consumer. Enterprises exports to this market should focus on deep-processing, value-added products such as EZ easy-to-peel shrimps ... to conform to the demand of this segment.

India - the largest shrimp supplier to the US, which is also a major competitor of Vietnamese shrimp in the US market, which is facing many difficulties due to Covid-19 epidemic. A blockade to curb the outbreak of Covid in India, which began on March 23 and will last until May 3, had negatively affected the country's production as March was the peak month for stocking of the summer season. Shrimp farmers in India have difficulty in supplying and transporting shrimp seeds while the output is leveled off, there is no shrimp caregiver because of the blockade, the price of raw shrimp has dropped deeply. Due to the shutdown, some Indian processing plants are only able to operate 50% of the number of workers. Therefore, India shrimp exports to the US in March 2020 devastated.

Accounting for 21% of total shrimp export value of Vietnam, Japan rose to be the largest shrimp importer of Vietnam in the first quarter of 2020 thanks to the strong growth of shrimp imports from Vietnam in February 2020 with a growth rate of 63% compared to the same period in 2019. In the first quarter of 2020, Vietnam's shrimp exports to Japan reached nearly 132 million USD, up 8.4% compared to the first quarter of 2019.

Vietnam's shrimp exports to the EU, South Korea and China in March 2020 declined by 16%, 6.3% and 6.4% respectively, compared to March 2019 due to the impact of the Covid-19.epidemic.

The situation of the pandemic is not yet known as to how long it will last. However, shrimp is in the essential food group at a reasonable price, so the demand will be improved in the domestic and international market in the time to come.

The anti-epidemic situation of Covid-19 in China and South Korea is getting better and there will be more hope for farmers and processing plants. When major producing countries such as India and Ecuador are facing difficulties in production due to pandemics and weather, Vietnam needs to ensure the supply of raw materials and production to catch up when the epidemic is under control. The main shrimp importers are implementing stimulus packages ... the demand for shrimp will increase and it is expected that the price will increase.