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) 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.
(vasep.com.vn) In 2025, Chile imported more than USD 156 million worth of tuna, up 8.1% compared to the previous year and the highest level in the past five years. As the supply structure in this market is rapidly shifting, Vietnamese tuna is facing both opportunities to expand market share and increasing competitive pressure from Thailand, Colombia, and China.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vinh Long Province is stepping up efforts to develop brackish water shrimp farming in a sustainable direction, identifying it as a key sector in its agricultural structure. In 2026, the province aims to reach around 71,300 hectares of shrimp farming, with an output of over 314,000 tons.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Ha Tinh Province is strengthening control over shrimp seed quality to minimize risks for the 2026 spring–summer farming season.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In February 2026, Vietnam’s pangasius exports reached USD 119 million, down slightly 5% year-on-year. However, thanks to strong performance in January, cumulative exports in the first two months of the year still reached USD 331 million, up 28% compared to the same period in 2025. Export activity slowed somewhat in February due to seasonal factors, particularly the Lunar New Year holiday, which disrupted production and shipments at many seafood processing enterprises.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Da Nang is accelerating the development of high-tech shrimp farming toward intensive production, disease control, and improved efficiency. Many shrimp farms have invested in automated environmental monitoring systems, continuously tracking indicators such as pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and salinity, enabling farmers to promptly adjust pond conditions and reduce disease risks.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The year 2025 is considered a turning point for Vietnam’s shrimp seed industry as the sector faces the need for strong transformation in technology, production management, and gradual self-sufficiency in broodstock supply. These factors are seen as key to improving seed quality and strengthening the competitiveness of the shrimp industry amid increasingly demanding market requirements.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In February 2026, Vietnam’s shrimp exports reached nearly USD 310 million, up 17% year-on-year. Cumulatively for the first two months of the year, shrimp export value totaled USD 690 million, an increase of 20% compared with the same period last year. Compared with the 22% growth recorded in January, the pace of increase in February slowed somewhat, reflecting seasonal factors as the Lunar New Year holiday partially disrupted processing and shipment activities. Nevertheless, the nearly 20% growth in the first two months indicates that shrimp orders from Vietnam are maintaining a more positive trend than in the same period last year.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) According to the latest statistics for January 2026, Vietnam’s pangasius export value to major market blocs recorded encouraging growth compared with the same period last year, indicating that consumption demand is gradually recovering.
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