(vasep.com.vn) So far, Thailand is considered as a competitor of Vietnam cephalopod products in many global consumer markets. However, it is also the third biggest consumer of Vietnam cephalopods.
Cephalopod export from Vietnam to Thailand kept consecutive growth in value over the recent 5 years. In first two months of 2012, Vietnam has seen a rise of 15 percent in total shipment value compared to the same period of the previous year.
The growth is expected to remain stable this year. To the end of February 2012, Thailand has imported dried and grilled squid (HS code 03) and dried ready-to-eat squid and processed octopus
(HS code 16) from Vietnam with value of US$3.5 million. Thailand becomes Vietnam’s third biggest buyer of dried, grilled and processed cephalopod in Asia, after Japan and South Korea.
According to Thailand Customs, the market had rarely purchased these items in the past. It now changes the product import structure and buys Vietnam squid and octopus to supply local tourism services.
In the previous year, Thailand strengthened its trade of squid and cephalopod products in some destinations, including Japan, Italy, the U.S., Canada, Australia and Germany. There were also profitable markets for Vietnam cephalopod export companies. In 2011, shipments of these items from Thailand rose 10 percent from the previous year. To ensure raw materials for processing for export, Thailand has spent US$146 million to purchase a great amount of 93,000 MT of squid and octopus from other sources such as India, Peru, China, Japan, Morocco, Indonesia, Malaysia and Chile.