Marine fish, tuna, shrimp, squid and octopus were the most imported products in terms of value. Taiwan remained Vietnam’s biggest supplier of ocean tuna and other marine fish like eel, frozen whole halfbeak, shark, and headless swordfish.
In the first quarter, Vietnamese enterprises continued to purchase trout from Norway, including fresh, whole, chilled fish with size of 5 – 6 kilogram and 6 – 7 kilogram; ordinary gutted fish with size of 6 – 7 kilogram; smoked sliced fish of 10 kilogram/box. Vietnam also bought other marine fish species such as flounder, snapper fillets and pollock from South Korea to process for supply contract with foreign partners.
Thailand, India and Indonesia were Vietnam companies’ main suppliers of mollusk species (HS 0307), sardine, mackerel, perch, and grouper. Australia kept exporting live lobster and abalone to Vietnam.
Currently, these above countries are increasingly importing raw material in order to diversify products to export and strengthen competitiveness in international markets. Referring to Thailand Customs’ statistics, in January – February 2013, the country’s imports of frozen fish (excluding fillets and fish meats with HS 0307) soared 50 – 120 percent in value over the same period of the last year. Purchase of mollusk (HS 0307) was up of 5 – 6 percent, fish with HS 0302 up 3 – 10 percent.
In 2012, China and Indonesia have also boosted imports of a large range of fish species for processing and export. Chinese purchase of crustacean (HS 0306) went up of 36.7 percent in value; fish with HS 0302 up 61 percent; fish with HS 0304 up 37 percent; live fish up 120 percent; and fish with HS 0305 up 3.5 percent.
|
Seafood imports by Vietnam, Jan – Mar 2013 |
|||||
|
No. |
Origin |
Value (US$) |
No. |
Origin |
Value (US$) |
|
1 |
Taiwan |
16,265,630 |
13 |
Russia |
2,584,077 |
|
2 |
Japan |
12,566,748 |
14 |
The U.K. |
1,821,263 |
|
3 |
Norway |
12,429,834 |
15 |
Malaysia |
1,807,743 |
|
4 |
India |
12,340,805 |
16 |
Myanmar |
1,125,931 |
|
5 |
Chile |
8,294,946 |
17 |
Canada |
1,080,763 |
|
6 |
Poland |
7,582,743 |
18 |
Singapore |
680,039 |
|
7 |
Thailand |
4,982,570 |
19 |
The Philippines |
328,517 |
|
8 |
South Korea |
4,735,510 |
20 |
The Netherlands |
85,050 |
|
9 |
Indonesia |
4,503,027 |
21 |
Saudi Arabia |
74,808 |
|
10 |
China |
3,843,906 |
Others |
28,815,638 |
|
|
11 |
The U.S. |
3,779,126 |
Total |
133,027,220 |
|
|
12 |
Denmark |
3,298,546 |
|||
|
Seafood imports by the U.S, Jan – Feb 2012/2013, thousand US$ Source: ITC |
|||||
|
HS code |
Products |
2012 |
2013 |
||
|
January |
February |
January |
February |
||
|
0304 |
Fillet/nugget/fresh/chilled/frozen fish |
509,406 |
427,747 |
449,472 |
401,001 |
|
0306 |
Other crustaceans |
439,085 |
333,574 |
401,354 |
319,011 |
|
0302 |
Fresh/chilled fish (excluding fish with HS 0304) |
101,983 |
107,064 |
109,891 |
106,894 |
|
0307 |
Mollusk |
71,468 |
64,229 |
72,427 |
62,130 |
|
0303 |
Frozen fish (excluding fish fillets and other fish meat with HS 0304) |
57,676 |
44,762 |
53,748 |
40,898 |
|
0305 |
Salted/smoked fish and fishmeal ingredients |
24,106 |
24,014 |
20,485 |
22,859 |
|
0301 |
Live fish |
6,051 |
6,018 |
6,095 |
6,258 |
|
0308 |
Live/fresh/chilled aquatic boneless animals and mollusk |
3,233 |
2,418 |
3,637 |
5,005 |
Building on over three decades of trusted leadership, VASEP is proactively shaping a Dynamic Knowledge Ecosystem where data is transformed into actionable value and forward-looking insights for the business community
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) An Giang is focusing on expanding climate-adaptive marine aquaculture models, aiming for safe and sustainable production. This approach not only enhances economic efficiency but also helps fishermen stabilize their livelihoods amid weather fluctuations.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In the first 10 months of 2025, Vietnam’s pangasius export value to China (including Mainland China and Hong Kong) reached $483 million, up 1% compared to the same period in 2024. October alone posted $73 million, a strong 19% increase year-on-year. The Chinese market currently accounts for nearly 27% of Vietnam’s total pangasius export value.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) According to data from Vietnam Customs, the country’s lobster exports posted another strong month in October 2025, reaching $93 million - a 75% increase from the same month in 2024. This performance extends the sector’s impressive growth streak from earlier in the year, pushing cumulative exports for the first 10 months to $712 million, up an extraordinary 135% year-over-year. Within the product mix, green lobster remained the dominant driver, accounting for 98% of total export value, with $700 million recorded in the first 10 months - a 141% jump year-on-year. In contrast, exports of spiny lobster and other lobster varieties declined slightly by 22% and 1%, respectively, indicating that market demand is becoming increasingly concentrated on the most sought-after product line.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Currently, Da Nang City has no fishing vessels detained, sanctioned by foreign authorities, or criminally prosecuted for IUU fishing violations. Patrols, monitoring of marine fishing activities, and handling of violations have been prioritized by competent forces, significantly reducing nearshore fishing infringements.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) According to statistics from Vietnam Customs, Vietnam’s tuna exports to Israel in the first nine months of 2025 reached just over USD 27 million, down as much as 49% compared to the same period in 2024. This is a steep and prolonged decline for many consecutive months, reflecting changes in import demand as well as shifts in the supply structure of this market.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The first 700 tons of Vietnamese tilapia ordered and imported by JBS Group will initially be distributed through supermarket chains, the Horeca network and JBS’s product showrooms in Brazil.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In October 2025, Vietnam’s pangasius exports hit $217 million, representing an 8% increase compared to the same month in 2024. For the first 10 months of the year, total export value has surpassed $1.8 billion, up 9% year-on-year. This growth demonstrates clear positive momentum for the pangasius industry, despite continued declines in certain markets.
In recent days, the Central provinces of Vietnam have been suffering from historic flooding, with prolonged heavy rains, landslides, flash floods, and deep inundation causing extremely serious impacts on tens of thousands of households, as well as many VASEP member exporters located in the region. With the spirit of mutual support and solidarity, and in order to promptly assist residents and member exporters in the affected areas to stabilize their lives and restore production activities, VASEP calls on all seafood exporters, organizations, and individuals to extend supports to the people and member exporters in the flood-hit areas. We urge timely and practical material and spiritual contributions to help member exporters and local communities in the severely affected provinces overcome this difficult period.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In the final days of October 2025, Vietnam’s domestic raw shrimp market remained generally stable, though slight adjustments were recorded in several sizes across key farming regions.
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