(vasep.com.vn) According to Vietnam Customs, seafood exports in February 2014 reached US$458 million, up nearly 57 percent year on year. Apart from tuna, which saw drop of 156 percent, sales of other aquatic species got rise in export value: shrimp up 156 percent (thanks to a rise of 305 percent in whiteleg shrimp exports), pangasius up 31 percent, cephalopod up 23 percent.
This year, exports of whiteleg shrimp continues growing considerably, as Vietnamese farmers expanded lands for the species farming after bumper and profitable harvests in 2013. The Vietnam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) reports that the production of brackish water shrimp is better than the previous months. Many provinces in Mekong Delta increase superficies for shrimp breeding. In the first quarter of 2014, some provinces got high shrimp output: Kien Giang (black tiger shrimp: 82,046 hectares, 2,331 MT; whiteleg shrimp: 804 hectares, 2,038 MT), Bac Lieu (black tiger shrimp: 98,889 hectares, 9,608 MT; whiteleg shrimp: 1,911 hectares, 1,592 MT), Ca Mau (black tiger shrimp: 263,735 hectares, 20,460 MT; whiteleg shrimp: 3,000 hectares, 8,540 MT).
Through February 2014, Vietnam exported US$497 million of shrimp products, up 105 percent year on year. Earnings from sales of whiteleg shrimp products were US$303 million, up 228 percent year on year. Black tiger shrimp items brought back US$161 million, up 27 percent.
Pangasius saw a strong recovery in February, increasing the year-to-date exports by 8.5 percent year on year to US$275 million. In Q.I/2014, land for pangasius production in Mekong Delta is expected to be 5,400 hectares, providing total output of 382,000 MT. Most main producing provinces reported downing fish aquaculture, including Vinh Long with 421 hectares (-2.3 percent), Dong Thap with 1,052 hectares (-2.9 percent). However, some of them had higher pangasius output: Dong Thap 57,633 MT (+7.3 percent); Can Tho 15,920 MT (+58.41 percent).
Though fishermen saw positive signs in fishing activities in the first months of the year with high fish catches, landings of tuna – the key marine fish for export – went down. Through March 2014, fish catches were estimated to reach 686,000 MT, up 5.4 percent year on year. Phu Yen caught 13,100 MT, down 1,9 percent; 1,700 MT of which were ocean tuna, down 40.4 percent. Binh Dinh caught 33,600 MT, up 18.3 percent; 2,237 MT of which were ocean tuna, up 7.4 percent. Khanh Hoa got 15,018 MT, including 1,866 MT of tuna.
Tuna sales abroad decreased 25 percent year on year to US$73 million through February. The strong drop was seen in fresh/frozen tuna of HS03 (-53 percent in February; -34 percent in the first two months of 2014).
The March seafood exports are expected to keep steady growth, as sales of whiteleg shrimp and pangasius are recovering. Sales of raw tuna continue to fall down due to lower landings.
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Vietnam seafood exports, Jan – Feb 2014 (USD mil.)
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Products
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January 2014 (Value)
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February 2014 (Value)
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Variation (%)
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Jan – Feb 2014
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Variation (%)
|
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Shrimps (HS code 03 and16)
|
258.640
|
238.844
|
+156.3
|
497.484
|
+105.3
|
|
- Whiteleg shrimp
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157.647
|
145.200
|
+305.2
|
302.848
|
+228.4
|
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- Black tiger shrimp
|
80.647
|
80.760
|
+60.9
|
161.407
|
+27.4
|
|
Pangasius (HS code 03 and 16)
|
156.970
|
118.065
|
+30.9
|
275.035
|
+8.5
|
|
Tuna (HS code 03 and 16)
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42.455
|
30.723
|
-39.3
|
73.178
|
-25.7
|
|
- Tuna (HS code 16)
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16.473
|
13.602
|
-1.7
|
30.075
|
-9.0
|
|
- Tuna (HS code 03)
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25.982
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17.121
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-53.5
|
43.103
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-34.2
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Other seafood products (HS code 0301 to 0305 and 1604, exclude tuna and pangasius)
|
76.654
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43.286
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+26.9
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119.941
|
+13.3
|
|
Cephalopod (HS code 0307 and 16)
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39.801
|
22.855
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+15.9
|
62.656
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-5.3
|
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- Cephalopod
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34.723
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18.080
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+22.8
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52.803
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-3.4
|
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- Bivalve mollusk
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5.044
|
4.762
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+1.9
|
9.807
|
-12.1
|
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Crab, swimming crab and other crustaceans (HS code 03 and 16)
|
8.971
|
3.937
|
-1.1
|
12.908
|
+5.2
|
|
Total
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583.593
|
457.711
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+56.8
|
1,041.202
|
+33.7
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