The seafood sector is flexibly shifting market directions, maintaining growth momentum for core commodities; concurrently, petitioning to untie obstacles regarding origin confirmation procedures for fishing vessels under 6m, aiming to clear raw material sources serving export to achieve the double-digit growth target.

Vietnamese seafood exports in the first 6 months of 2026 achieved positive growth thanks to recovering markets and the adaptive capacity of enterprises, despite confronting multiple pressures. The United States market is particularly difficult with tightened regulations on caught seafood (MMPA, COA), high anti-dumping duties on shrimp, rising inventories, and economical consumption trends, prioritizing low prices.

Competition for Vietnamese shrimp in the US is fierce from Ecuador, Indonesia, India, alongside anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duty risks, the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP), and traceability requirements, elevating compliance costs.

Shrimp still serves as the core commodity, reaching 2.3 billion USD, up 13.6% and occupying 40.5% of the total turnover, primarily thanks to strong demand from mainland China and Hong Kong. Pangasius ranked second with 1.1 billion USD, up 12.1%, occupying 19.4%, retaining advantages in price, large supply sources, and flexible processing. Tuna decreased by 2% (452 million USD) due to slow purchasing power and rising costs.

Conversely, squid and octopus rose by 18.8% (380.2 million USD) thanks to stable demand from South Korea, Japan, Thailand, China; crabs and swimming crabs rose by 26.2% (206.2 million USD); bivalve mollusks rose sharply by 33.1% (155.3 million USD), maintaining the general growth momentum of the sector.

Prospects for the second half of 2026, KB Securities evaluates pangasius positively because high-end white fish supply sources decrease, keeping prices high, reinforcing the position of pangasius as a competitive alternative choice against a backdrop of inflation and slow economic growth. Vietnamese shrimp retains advantages in the international market thanks to deep processing capacities, creating differentiation. Shinhan Securities forecasts pangasius exports to rise by 5%, but warns that raw material shortages will demand increasing value-added products and tight linkages with farmers to stabilize fingerling fish sources.

VASEP has petitioned localities to maintain and expand farming zone planning and simplify procedures for granting certificates of origin (C/C) for caught seafood from fishing vessels under 6m under Circular 81/2025/TT-BNNMT, aiming to satisfy traceability requirements and combat IUU fishing.

However, localities responded with multiple obstacles. Granting C/C for fishing vessels under 6m encounters difficulties due to ununified regulations and forms, lacking guidelines regarding vessel information and fishing logs. Particularly, vessels under 6m do not belong to the registration scope and are not updated on the National Fisheries Database System, causing management agencies to possess no basis to confirm origins, hindering exports.

Regarding farming zone planning, localities are reviewing and orienting appropriate development. Vinh Long maintains existing areas, reviewing potential land for high-value aquaculture and recovering slow projects. An Giang is researching expanding potential areas, deploying the Plan to arrange cage aquaculture to 2030. Quang Ngai is reviewing land and water surface use planning following adjustments. Thanh Hoa maintains around 19,200 ha of aquaculture and 5,740 cages, stepping up infrastructure investment and developing shrimp, clam, and marine fish farming zones.

Source: VnEconomy