VASEP believes that the opportunity to export Vietnamese seafood to China in 2025 is still very large thanks to the strong consumption demand of this market.

China will soon become a seafood import market worth 29 billion USD

According to Rabobank seafood analyst Novel Sharma, China is forecast to contribute 40% of the growth in global seafood consumption by 2030, equivalent to an increase of more than 5.5 million tonnes.

Its economic prosperity, population of 1.4 billion and strong appetite for seafood make China the most promising growth market for seafood this decade. However, potential supply constraints, such as persistent environmental damage, resource scarcity and rising labor costs, could impact both domestic production and seafood export opportunities.

Faced with these challenges, China will have to look to external sources to ensure sufficient production and bridge the growing gap between supply and demand.

“We expect the rise of the upper middle class and the expansion of e-commerce channels to drive the trend towards higher-value seafood products in the long term. As a result, value-based consumption growth could outpace volume-based growth, making China a $29 billion seafood import market by 2030, surpassing the US at $25 billion,” Novel Sharma added.

As China transforms into the world’s largest seafood importer and pricing market, its seafood consumption and sourcing decisions will have global implications. These decisions will impact the supply dynamics and prices of most of the world’s premium seafood species, as well as the inputs used to produce them, significantly influencing global seafood trade.

Given these factors, China has the potential to become the most important growth market for seafood exporters worldwide this decade, Novel Sharma said. It is important for exporters to closely monitor changes in Chinese demand to identify untapped opportunities.

High demand for fresh, premium seafood

Sharing at the Online Conference to promote agricultural, forestry and fishery exports in 2025 taking place at the end of 2024, Mr. Nong Duc Lai, Vietnam's Trade Counselor in China, informed that China is an important export market for a number of Vietnamese agricultural and aquatic products.

Particularly for seafood, this is one of the three largest export markets of Vietnam. Vietnamese seafood exports to the Chinese market include shrimp of all kinds, tra fish, basa fish, dried fish, frozen fish, squid, crab, surimi, tuna, etc.

General Secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) Truong Dinh Hoe said that Vietnam's seafood export turnover to China in 2024 will continue to grow strongly, reaching 1.9 billion USD.

“Although there have been different increases and decreases in some products due to trade fluctuations between China and other major countries, for example, Vietnam's pangasius exports to China have decreased, but exports of white-leg shrimp, lobster, crab, and snails have all increased sharply, showing that the consumption demand in China is still very large and contributes an important part to the overall export result of 10 billion USD of the whole industry,” Mr. Hoe added.

Mr. Hoe commented that the opportunity to export Vietnamese seafood to China in 2025 is still very large thanks to the strong consumption demand of this market, especially for fresh, high-end products.

“China-US seafood trade will decline in the coming time under the pressure of the US's new tariff policy and the risk of China's retaliation. This is an opportunity for Vietnam to increase exports to China with product lines such as: lobster, crab, snail, clam, live seafood", Mr. Hoe predicted.

Difficulty keeping up with demand and new regulations

Vietnamese Trade Counselor in China Nong Duc Lai analyzed some trends of this market in the coming time, which is to focus on domestic demand, take domestic consumption as the driving force for economic growth through promoting the development of the domestic market, and use consumption to compensate for exports.

The consumption trend of Chinese people, especially urban consumers, is increasingly interested in healthy products, high quality and clear origin.

Oysters are one of the most popular seafood in China. Photo: Hong Tham.

This has led to the standardization of regulations and management systems, monitoring of quality, food safety and hygiene, and traceability of food products according to international standards becoming more stringent... Therefore, the General Secretary of VASEP commented that the opportunity to export seafood to the Chinese market is huge, but Vietnamese enterprises will also have to face significant challenges.

In addition, the procedures for registering businesses and products allowed to be exported to the Chinese market under Orders 248 and 249 of this country are also a significant obstacle. In addition, China is also a market where it is difficult to grasp information about demand and new regulations - a significant barrier.

Improve supply capabilities through modern distribution channels

Mr. Lai informed that aquatic products and aquatic products are currently among the most warned in the Chinese market. The warned errors include: incomplete certification, paperwork accompanying goods; food additives; product packaging labels; quality indicators; expiry date...

Mr. Lai recommended that the authorities should strengthen the management and supervision of the quality of exported goods. At the same time, regularly update and disseminate information to businesses on regulations, quality standards, food safety and hygiene of importing countries;

Effectively utilize cooperation mechanisms between the two countries to remove difficulties and technical barriers. Review cooperation mechanisms and agreements, supplement and amend them in accordance with the current cooperation situation;

Comply with regulations on quality standards, quarantine testing, packaging, traceability of importing countries; focus on brand building; need human resources with professional knowledge, fluent in languages, and understanding of the importing country's market;

Ready to compete with agricultural products and food products of other countries participating in exporting to the Chinese market.

According to Mr. Hoe, to better exploit the Chinese market, Vietnamese seafood enterprises need to improve product quality, strictly comply with export regulations and improve supply capacity through modern distribution channels, especially e-commerce.

Source: Nong Nghiep Newspaper