Lithuania is currently ranked 79th among the world’s largest economies and 36th in the list of wealthiest countries, with an annual GDP per capita of approximately USD 23,723, equivalent to USD 66.45 billion. Each year, Lithuania spends about USD 650 million on seafood imports.
According to ITC statistics, Lithuania is the 12th largest seafood importer in the EU, accounting for 1.2% of the EU’s total seafood import value. In 2022, Vietnam was the 6th largest seafood supplier to Lithuania from outside the EU, accounting for 3.54% of Lithuania’s total seafood import value.
Data from Vietnam Customs show that Vietnam’s tuna export value to this market surged from USD 229 thousand in 2021 to nearly USD 16 million in 2024—an increase of 69 times. In the first five months of 2025 alone, tuna export turnover to Lithuania doubled year-on-year, reaching over USD 8 million.
Frozen tuna meat/loin products (HS code 0304) are the main exports to this market, accounting for 98% of total tuna export value.
Lithuania has been a member of the European Union since 2004. Within the cooperation framework between Vietnam and the EU, legal mechanisms have been established to support economic, trade, and investment collaboration between Vietnam and EU member states. Notably, on June 11–12, 2025, the President of the Republic of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, and his spouse visited Hanoi—marking the first high-level state visit by a Lithuanian head of state to Vietnam in many years. This visit was a highly significant diplomatic event, reflecting the two countries’ commitment to their traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation, while also opening a new chapter in bilateral relations amid a rapidly changing global context filled with both opportunities and challenges.
In addition, at the seminar titled “75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Central and Eastern European countries: strengthening relationship, enhancing cooperation, looking to the future,” Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha outlined five key tasks to elevate Vietnam–CEE relations to a new level. Among them is the need to boost economic cooperation and leverage the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) to achieve an annual trade growth rate of 10%.
As such, the current expansion of tuna exports to Lithuania by Vietnamese enterprises is on the right track and holds significant potential for growth in the near future. However, to fully realize this potential, businesses are still awaiting the Government’s swift resolution of issues related to Decree 37/2024/NĐ-CP, which provides guidelines for implementing the 2017 Fisheries Law—particularly concerning minimum harvesting sizes and regulations prohibiting mixing of catches. Timely issuance of an amended Decree 37/2024/NĐ-CP would help address difficulties faced by enterprises and fishermen, thus unlocking domestic tuna supply and creating favorable conditions for exporters to take advantage of preferential terms under various Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Seafood exports in the first 6 months of the year continued to be a bright spot with a total turnover of 5.7 billion USD, an increase of 11.4% compared to the same period last year. By commodity group, seafood is one of the three groups with a trade balance in the first 6 months of 2026 in a surplus state with 4.13 billion USD, an increase of 17%.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) For many years, Vietnam’s seafood industry has been recognized as one of the country’s key export pillars. Products such as shrimp, pangasius, tuna, squid, octopus, and a wide range of other seafood have reached hundreds of markets worldwide. Yet behind these impressive export figures lies a significant challenge: a substantial share of Vietnam’s seafood export value still comes from minimally processed products, contract manufacturing, and raw material exports—segments characterized by low profit margins and high vulnerability to fluctuations in global prices.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In the context of a global economy shifting powerfully toward green and sustainable values, Vietfish 2026 is far more than just a commercial trade fair. It has become a strategic rendezvous and a "comprehensive ecosystem"—a convergence of value, knowledge, and sustainable growth opportunities for the entire industry chain.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s pangasius exports to Colombia continued their strong upward momentum in May 2026. Export value to the market reached USD 4 million, up 24% compared to the same month in 2025. Cumulative exports in the first five months of 2026 totaled USD 24 million, an impressive 48% increase year-on-year.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Hai Phong's aquaculture sector is accelerating the adoption of high technologies in aquaculture to adapt to climate change, with red tilapia and tilapia identified as the key cultured species for priority development.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s seafood exports reached nearly US$1.1 billion in June 2026, up 21.0% year-on-year. Cumulative exports in the first half of 2026 totaled nearly US$5.8 billion, representing a 12.8% increase compared with the same period last year. Exports to China and Hong Kong continued to accelerate, while shipments to the United States rebounded strongly in June. In contrast, exports to the EU, Japan, and the Middle East remained sluggish or recorded slight declines.
(vasep.com.vn) Tilapia is playing an increasingly important role in Vietnam’s aquaculture sector, driven not only by growing market opportunities but also by its ability to meet increasingly stringent requirements on quality, food safety, and traceability. In practice, tilapia farming in Vietnam is not a spontaneous or loosely regulated activity; rather, it operates under a comprehensive legal and technical framework covering the entire value chain—from hatcheries and farming to processing and exports.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s shrimp exports reached USD 1.9 billion in the first five months of 2026, up 12% compared with the same period last year. Amid continued volatility in the global seafood market, this result demonstrates that the shrimp sector has maintained positive growth momentum, supported by improving demand in several Asian markets, particularly China.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On June 16, the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Ca Mau Province announced that the locality has established a farming area code for nearly 30,400 hectares of mud crab aquaculture and granted export facility codes to five enterprises eligible to export mud crab officially to markets such as China, Cambodia, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The United States remains one of the largest export markets for Vietnamese pangasius. In the first four months of 2026, pangasius exports to the US reached USD 106 million, up 4% compared to the same period in 2025. In April 2026 alone, export value totaled USD 38 million, marking a 20% year-on-year increase and the first positive growth recorded after an extended period of decline.
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