(vasep.com.vn) Currently, seafood products account for a proportion of 20 – 30 percent in total Canadian food export, in which 80 percent were marine fish items. Canada presents its seafood products in 150 different markets and becomes one of the world’s big exporters. Yet local fisheries’ production volume does not respond to domestic demand.
To March 2012, Canada ranked 9th position among Vietnam leading importers of seafood, especially cephalopod items. In 2011, shipments of cephalopods to Canada market were worth at US$913 thousand.
Until the middle of March 2012, earnings from cephalopod export to the market reached US$444 thousand, up 662 percent compared to the same period last year.
Canadian companies just buy several cephalopod items like live, fresh and frozen squid (HS code 03) and live, fresh, frozen and salted octopus (HS code 03) from Vietnam. Then they have to process value-added products which satisfy requirements of local consumers. Canadian people have trend to enjoy meals at home instead of going to the restaurant.
Currently, Vietnam cephalopod exporters have to compete with traders from China, Thailand, India, Taiwan and Peru in Canada market. However, over the three recent years, exports of cephalopod (mostly squid) from Thailand, India and Taiwan saw a decreasing trend when China still kept stable export to Canada. In 2011, China export volume was two times higher than that of Thailand.
Though Canada importers signed smaller orders compared to the U.S. buyers, Vietnam companies intend to seek contracts with Canadian partners. In first three months of 2012, Vietnam exporters have shifted their cephalopod shipments to Canada and have had good business in the market. The value of US$444 thousand in the first two and a half months this year is not a high score compared to other traditional partners of Vietnam like South Korea, Japan and the EU. However, with the outstanding 600 percent increase in import value compared to the same period of 2011, Canada still promises potential market for Vietnam cephalopod in the next quarters of 2012.