(vasep.com.vn) In the first nine months of 2026, Vietnam’s tilapia exports to the CPTPP bloc reached $7 million, marking a 51% year-on-year increase. The bloc rstands as the fourth-largest market for Vietnamese tilapia, trailing Brazil, the US, and Saudi Arabia.
Growth sustained, yet market share remains modest
Exports to CPTPP recorded continuous quarterly growth and surged in Q3; however, on a monthly basis, the upward momentum is decelerating. Export value gradually declined over the three months of Q3, dropping from $878,000 in July to $693,000 in August and $663,000 in September. Nevertheless, September exports remained 53% higher than in the same month of 2025.
Despite this strong growth, CPTPP markets accounted for only 7% of Vietnam’s total tilapia export value in the first nine months of 2026. By contrast, Brazil and the US alone constituted 47% and 24% of the total, respectively.
Japan, Malaysia and Mexico drive growth
The three markets have played distinct roles in the CPTPP export landscape.
In terms of tilapia export turnover in the first nine months of 2026, Japan took the lead with $2 million, up 74%. Exports to this market fluctuated on a quarterly basis: surging 136% in Q1, dropping 7% in Q2, and then rebounding strongly in Q3 with a 133% increase, notably spiking by 191.9% in August alone. The Q3 rally was driven by the fact that since early July, Vietnamese tilapia has been exported to Japan as ingredients for sushi and sashimi - a segment with exceptionally stringent quality standards.
Exports to Malaysia reached $2 million, a marginal increase of 4%. Following a sharp rise in Q1, shipments to the market declined in the subsequent two quarters. Malaysia primarily imports whole frozen tilapia, a price-sensitive segment in which orders tend to fluctuate over time. Exporters should therefore continue monitoring demand and adjust their market strategies accordingly.
Mexico emerged as a bright spot from Q2, with Vietnamese tilapia exports reaching $2 million, skyrocketing by 282% and emerging as a bright spot since Q2. Turnover jumped from $160,000 in Q1 to $940,000 in Q2, and stood at $730,000 in Q3. During Q3, Mexico even overtook Japan to become the bloc’s largest destination for Vietnamese tilapia.
Expanding beyond the three main markets
The remaining CPTPP markets accounted for a mere 15% of the bloc's value, contributing $1 million to the nine-month export turnover. Reliance on the three major markets remains high. The slowdown in Malaysia and Mexico’s relatively recent emergence highlight the need to build a more stable export base across the bloc.
Vietnamese tilapia’s initial entry into Japan’s sushi and sashimi raw-material segment offers a potential pathway to higher-value opportunities across CPTPP markets, although more time is needed to assess the consistency of orders.
As Vietnam’s tilapia exports remain heavily concentrated in Brazil, the CPTPP bloc represents a potential avenue for market diversification. If exporters can sustain growth in Japan and Mexico, revive shipments to Malaysia and expand into smaller markets within the bloc, CPTPP could become an increasingly important pillar of Vietnam’s tilapia export strategy.