(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In 2015, Vietnam tuna exports to Italy saw the decrease. Howerver, in the early 2016, tuna exports to the market have recovered.
According to statistics of Vietnam Customs, in Jan 2016, Vietnam tuna exports to Italy hit more than US$2 million, up nearly 61% year on year.
Together with exports of fresh/live/frozen tuna, Vietnam exported some other processed tuna products to the market. In Jan 2016, export value of fresh/live/frozen tuna and processed tuna of Vietnam reached US$1.3 million, and US$0.7 million, respectively. Exports of these two items reported the year-on-year growth.
According to statistics of the International Trade Centre (ITC), in 2015, tuna imports into Italy witnessed the reduction. The total tuna import value of Italy in the first 11 months of 2015 was US$693 million, down nearly 22% over the same period in 2014.
Last year, Italy reduced tuna imports from 43 countries. Ecuador was the largest supplier of tuna to Italy, accounting for 7.7% of the total tuna imports by the country. It was followed by the Solomon Islands, Mauritius and Indonesia. Thailand currently ranked the 6th, the Philippines ranked the 7th and Vietnam ranked the 14th.
In 2015, except for Indonesia, tuna exports of most ASEAN countries such as Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam to Italy showed a downward trend.
In the first 11 months of 2015, imports of processed tuna and fresh/live/frozen tuna (excluding tuna fillets/loins HS code 0304) into Italy saw a decrease. In particular, Italy’s processed tuna imports were at more than US$581 million, down 23% compared to the same period of 2014, while imports of live/fresh/ frozen tuna (except for tuna fillets/loins HS code 0304) hit nearly US$88 million, down nearly 21%.
On the contrary, Italy’s imports of tuna fillets/loins (HS code 0304) reached nearly US$24 million, up 35% compared to the first 11 months of 2014.
Italy mainly imported processed tuna products from the island states and Ecuador. Meanwhile, imports from Asian countries decreased.
In 2016, Vietnam tuna exports to Italy are expected to grow thanks to the positive impact of the free trade agreement between Vietnam and the EU.
Compiled by Dieu Thuy