Seafood export value reached over USD 3.2 billion in quarter II of 2022, equal to nearly 36% of the same period of 2021 of USD 2.4 billion.
According to VASEP, seafood exports brought in over USD 1 billion in June 2022, equal to May and up 23% from the same period last year. Vietnam achieved nearly USD 5.8 billion from seafood exports in the first six months of 2022, up 40% from the same period of 2021.
Pangasius exports to the UK skyrocketed
According to VASEP, due to the lack of material for processing, shrimp exports increased by just 7% in June 2022, valued at USD 450 million. The accumulated value of the first half of the year reached USD 2.3 billion, up 33% from the same period last year and accounting for 40% of the total seafood export value of the country.
Exports of processed white leg shrimp increased by 17% in the first half of the year while exports of fresh/frozen shrimp rose by 21%. Exports of black tiger shrimp still increased by 20%, reaching over USD 300 million. Exports of lobster reached a new peak with USD 130 million worth in the first half of the year, up thirty times as much as the same period last year.
The strike between Russia and Ukraine offered an opportunity for pangasius in 2022. Due to the short supply of white meat fish, especially cod, in the EU, the US, and the UK resulting from the sanction against Russia, restaurants in the EU had to erase cod from the menu.
Pangasius, therefore, had an opportunity to retain its market share. Pangasius exports to the UK experienced a sixfold increase in the first half of the year, while exports to Spain were threefold, and sales in France, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium increased by 45-90%.
Tuna export reached over USD 91 million in June 2022, up 43% as compared to the same period last year. The total tuna exports increased by 56% in the first half of the year, reaching USD 553 million, accounting for nearly 10% of the total seafood export value. Main exported products were loin tuna and frozen tuna strips, bringing in USD 377 million worth, up 122%.
While Vietnam saw a nearly twofold increase in sales of tuna in the US, tuna exports to the US just rose by 9%. The IUU yellow card has prevented Vietnam from exporting tuna and other aquatic species to the EU.
Exports of cuttlefish and octopus reached over USD 68 million in June 2022, up 34% from last June. As of the first half of the year, exports of cephalopoda brought in USD 344 million worth, up 29% from the same period last year, accounting for 6% of the total seafood export revenue.
Exports of cuttlefish reached USD 197 million, up 45%, and exports of octopus reached USD 147 million, up 12%. In the first six months of the year, exports of mollusk, crab, and other fishes increased by 11-54% from the same period last year.
US, the number one market
According to VASEP, the US has been the biggest importer of Vietnamese seafood, accounting for 23% of the total seafood export value of Vietnam. The US has been also the biggest destination of Vietnamese shrimps, accounting for 21%. The US accounted for 54% of the density of Vietnam’s tuna exports. As for pangasius, the US has been the second biggest importer, after China, accounting for 25.6%.
Vietnam’s seafood exports to the US reached nearly USD 1.32 billion in the first six months of the year, up 65% from the same period last year. Sales of seafood in the US are forecasted to reach USD 2.4-2.5 billion, up 25% from 2021.
In the US, except for a 10% increase in sales of bivalves, exports of shrimp, pangasius, tuna, and other key species skyrocketed as compared to 2021. Pangasius exports jumped by 131% as compared to the same period last year.
Exports of white leg shrimp and black tiger shrimp to the US increased by 33% and 29% respectively as compared to the same period last year. Vietnam is also one of the top providers of shrimp to the US market, with nearly USD 390 million worth being recorded, up 32% from the same period last year.
Vietnam has exported mainly loin/frozen tuna fillet to the US, accounting for 74%. In the first five months of the year, tuna exports to the US reached USD 251 million, twice as much as the same period last year. Exports of tuna loin alone reached USD 186 million, up 184%.
Moreover, according to VASEP, Vietnam’s seafood exports to China increased by 91% as compared to the same period last year, with USD 925 million of export value being recorded in six months. Pangasius and shrimp were the two main exported species, accounting for respectively 48% and 35% of the density of Vietnam’s seafood exports to the Chinese market.
Noticeable sales of Vietnamese lobster were recorded in China, increasing 29 times as much as from the same period last year. Pangasius exports increased by 124%. Besides the two key species, exports of marine products to China decreased from the same period last year, with tuna declining by 60%, marine fishes reducing by 9%, and grilled fish and surimi decreasing by 25%.
VFM
