(vasep.com.vn) Through September 2013, Vietnam’s bivalve mollusk exports reached US$54.6 million, down 4.1 percent from that of the same time last year.
During this period, export value of the item in Jan and April reported the increase of 54.6 – 6.5 percent, respectively; exports in the remaining months posted the fall of 7.3 – 20.2 percent on par with the same time of 2012.
Exports of the item to the U.S., China, South Korea were down 16.9 percent; 51.1 percent and 51.6 percent.
Vietnam’s exports of bivalve mollusk (mainly clam) to Japan in Jan-Sep 2013 marked a considerable growth of 12.6 percent from the compatible period last year; however, Vietnam’s exports among the market’s total mollusk imports was modest.
According to Japanese Customs, in the first 7 months of 2013, the country imported 29,730 MT fresh and frozen clams, worth by JPY8.7 billion (about US$90.3 million), meaning an average price of JPY292 per kilogram (US$3.04 per kilogram).
These figures were up 7 percent in volume and 15 percent in value on those reported in Jan-Sep 2012.
During this time, the main origins of the item for Japan were China, Canada, South Korea and Indonesia. China was the largest supplier to Japan, occupying 60 percent among Japan’s total imports thanks to its lower export price than those offered by other suppliers, including Vietnam.