(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On May 5, 2015, Vietnam - Korea Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA) was signed and officially took effect from December 20, 2015. Compared to the previous signed FTAs of Vietnam and other countries, VKFTA does not really bring many advantages to the tuna industry.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Before 2015, Russia was a small market for importing tuna from Vietnam. But since 2015, when Vietnam officially signed the Free Trade Agreement with Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU - including Russia, Republic of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Republic of Armenia and Republic Kyrgyzstan) (VCUFTA) and came into effect on October 5, 2016, Vietnam's tuna export has prospered. However, recently, Vietnam's tuna export to this market has decreased.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In 2018, tuna prices were generally softer than in 2017, but this did not have any impact on demand in the EU market. The amount of inventories in the EU market in the past year was high and the demand for ordinary canned tuna products was at saturation levels, thus affecting the import trend in this market. In the first 11 months of 2018, the EU's tuna imports decreased by 5% to 923 thousand tonnes compared to the same period in 2017. However, in terms of export value, EU's tuna imports still climbed by 11% compared to 2017, reaching more than US$5 billion.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On October 1, 2009, the Vietnam - Japan Economic Partnership Agreement took effect. According to commitments within 10 years of the entry into force of the Agreement, Japan will exempt duty on 94% of Vietnam's goods exported to this market, especially tax exemption for 86% of Vietnamese agricultural products (including tuna products). However, since the VJEPA agreement come into effect, Vietnam's tuna exports to Japan have not changed much.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) After a period of continuous decline, Vietnam's tuna export to the US in 2018 recovered in the last 3 months. Overall, total tuna export value from Vietnam to the US in 2018 still increased by 1.7% compared to 2017, reaching US$230 million. The reason for this growth was that the US restricted import of shipments from China due to the increase in tuna import tax.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In Jan – Feb 2019, Vietnam’s tuna sales to China rocketed by 771%, pushing the market to the fifth largest importer of Vietnamese tuna after the US, the EU, Israel and the ASEAN.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) After 9 months of continuous growth, Vietnam's tuna exports to EU decreased in the last 3 months of 2018. According to statistics of Vietnam Customs, tuna exports value in the last 3 months of the year only reached US$40.5 million, down 10.7% compared to the same period in 2017. However, in 2018 Export value of tuna rose by 11.5%, reaching US$158 million.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In the last month of 2018, Vietnam's tuna export continued to grow. In 2018, Tuna export increased by 10% compared with 2017, reaching nearly US$ 653 million. Relative to 2017, the export growth rate to most major export markets was lower.

Tuna exports are expected to top 1 billion USD this year, up 350 million USD from last year, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

Viet Uc Seafood Corp., a leading shrimp breeding company in Vietnam, expects to start production at its new high-tech shrimp farm in April, the company’s controlling director, Vu Duc Tri, told SeafoodSource in an interview in Ho Chi Minh City on 21 February.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam's tuna exports in Oct 2018 have experienced a positive trend in some markets such as the US, China ... The total value of tuna exports in October still increased by 16% compared to October 2017, reached US$67 million, bringing the total export value in the first 10 months to nearly US$541 million, up by 11% compared to the same period last year.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In the context of declining export of tuna to major markets in September, Canada emerged as a highlight, witnessing a remarkable growth of 142% compared to September 2017.

A ceremony was held on December 21 at Tam Quan fishing port in Hoai Nhon district in the south central province of Binh Dinh to announce the “Binh Dinh tuna brand”.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) While tuna exports from Vietnam to Germany and the Netherlands decreased, tuna exports to Spain increased dramatically, making Spain the largest tuna importing market of Vietnam in the EU. Tuna export value to this market in September impressively increased by 336%, bringing the total export value in the first nine months to nearly US$20 million, increasing by 75% over the same period.

(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In September, Vietnam's tuna exports increased by only 1.4% compared with September 2017, while the growth rate reached 20.4% in August and 2.1% in July, leading to unstable export growth. However, in September, exports of tuna to some markets such as Spain, Canada have spiked.