Vietnam tuna exports to the EU dropped in the second quarter of 2022

Among Vietnam's tuna exports to this market, Vietnam's exports volume of tuna meat/loin with HS code 0304 increased, but the growth rate tended to slow down. Canned tuna exports also increased slightly over the same period. Meanwhile, exports of fresh and frozen tuna under HS03 code (except HS code 0304) and other processed tuna with HS code 16 to Vietnam continued to decline.

Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands are the top 3 EU countries in terms of tuna imports from Vietnam in the first half of 2022. While Vietnam's tuna exports to Belgium and the Netherlands continued to maintain a high growth rate in the past 3 months, exports to Germany decreased continuously. This made tuna exports to the German market in the first half of 2022 decreased by 1.8% compared to the same period in 2021.

Europe's euro has just suffered a "major shock" when its exchange rate fell to parity with the dollar for the first time in 20 years.  EU countries are concerned about the possibility that Russia can cut off automatic gas supplies to Europe and make the region fall at any time.  This will affect the entire economy, including the fishing industry and processed tuna of the EU countries.

According to a report released by the European Union's (EU) data statistics agency Eurostat, consumer prices in the 19 countries that use the euro rose 8.6% in June, while the figure in this region a month ago was recorded at 8.1%. In which, the group of food items increased by 8.9%, showing that inflation is spreading in the euro area. Despite record inflation, the European Central Bank (ECB) did not raise interest rates in Q2/2022. This delay caused the euro to depreciate against the US dollar. The price of tuna products increased due to higher costs of necessary goods, a strong dollar may cause the final tuna products to be imported into the EU from countries outside the bloc such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Ecuador,...  more expensive. This has affected Vietnam's tuna exports to EU countries in the past 3 months.

In addition, according to enterprises, usually the first months of the year are a favorable time to increase export orders to EU markets due to the impact of agreements on preferential tariffs under the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and EU (EVFTA). However, this year, due to the high price of petrol, it affected the tuna catch of the whole country, causing a decrease in the supply of raw tuna to ensure the rules of origin under the FTA.  All these factors are holding back the growth of Vietnam's tuna exports to this market.  It is expected that tuna exports to the EU will continue to decelerate in the coming months.

Compiled by My Hanh