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 |
(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.com.vn) Amid ongoing volatility in global seafood trade, Vietnam’s crab exports have made a fairly positive start to 2026. According to Vietnam Customs statistics, export turnover in the first two months of 2026 reached nearly USD 55 million, up 24% compared to the same period in 2025 and more than 2.2 times higher than in the same period of 2024. This indicates that crab exports are entering 2026 with stronger growth momentum, particularly in Asian markets.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Da Nang City has fully implemented all recommendations from the European Commission (EC) regarding the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, creating an important foundation for the removal of the “yellow card” in the near future.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In Hoa Vang district (Da Nang City), red tilapia farming is demonstrating clear economic efficiency, becoming a promising livelihood that helps many households increase their income. A notable example is the model of Mr. Huynh Ngoc Nam, who operates two red tilapia ponds covering more than 4 hectares, generating stable annual income.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In Gia Vien district, tilapia farming—particularly the “duong nghiep” strain—is expanding rapidly and gradually becoming an efficient production model for local farmers. Hatcheries in the area are supplying high-quality, uniform, and disease-free fingerlings, meeting the growing demand for commercial farming.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On the afternoon of March 19, Vice Chairman of the Ca Mau Provincial People’s Committee, Le Van Su, chaired a meeting to address bottlenecks and propose solutions to expand the super-intensive whiteleg shrimp farming model using low water exchange and high biosecurity standards (RAS-IMTA).
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On March 10, 2026, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee issued Decision No. 1377/QD-UBND approving the Aquatic Animal Disease Prevention and Control Plan for the 2026–2030 period. The decision takes effect from the date of signing and replaces previous plans for the 2021–2030 period that had been issued prior to the administrative merger in Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Binh Duong, and Ho Chi Minh City.
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