(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam's seafood exports to the US in the third quarter of 2021 slowed down compared to the second quarter, but still increased by 5.7% compared to the same period last year. By the end of September 2021, Vietnam's seafood exports to the US reached US$1.45 billion, up 24% over the same period last year.
Shrimp, pangasius and tuna are the three main product lines exported to the US, accounting for 53%, 17% and 15.6% of total seafood exports to this market, respectively.
In the first 9 months of the year, shrimp exports to the US increased 22% to 775 million USD. The US is currently Vietnam's largest shrimp export market, accounting for 28% of shrimp exports. In which, whiteleg shrimp reached USD 690 million, up 20%, black tiger shrimp reached USD 68 million, up 46%.
Pangasius exports to the US reached 248 million USD, up 43%, mainly frozen pangasius fillets/portion (HS code 0304) reached 243 million USD. The US is currently behind China in importing Vietnamese pangasius, accounting for 23% of export value.
For tuna, the US is also the largest market, accounting for 43.5% share, with 226 million USD in the first 9 months of this year, up 8% over the same period last year.
In addition to whiteleg shrimp, pangasius, tuna, Vietnam also sharply increased crab exports to the US in the past time, with $ 34 million in first 9 months, an increase of 68%.
The US market is recovering strongly in demand while the domestic seafood supply, which is already very low, usually only meets 10% of domestic consumption, has been reduced because of production interruption during Covid. Lack of raw materials, lack of labor, seafood prices in the US increased. Therefore, the demand for imported seafood is very large, especially shrimp and crab products...
According to Fas.usda data, in the first 8 months of this year, the US imported more than 2 million tons of seafood, worth over 18 billion USD, up 14% in volume and 30% in value, showing that the average import price increased sharply compared to the same period last year. . In which, shrimp imports increased 24% in volume and 26% in value, reaching 540 thousand tons, valued at $4.9 billion.