Vietnam has strengths in seafood processing, so Japanese seafood enterprises wish to increase cooperation and place orders for processing products for export to other markets.

Vietnam has a developed seafood processing industry with many high-quality processing factories

Vietnam has a developed seafood processing industry with many high-quality processing factories, which are being chosen by many Japanese enterprises to cooperate in processing products for export to other markets such as the US, ASEAN countries, etc.

This is the information announced by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF) at the Japan Seafood Business Connection Event in Vietnam organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF) in coordination with the Consulate General of Japan in Ho Chi Minh City, the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) on the afternoon of March 14.

Mr. Toru Yoshimatsu, representative of MAF, informed that in 2023, the total export turnover of Japanese agricultural, forestry, fishery and food products will reach approximately 1,454 billion yen. The Japanese government aims to increase exports of these products to 2 trillion yen by 2025 and 5 trillion yen by 2030. Among aquatic products, scallops, amberjack and red sea bream are Japan's main export items.

The Japanese government is currently implementing activities to promote the attractiveness of Japanese seafood at home and abroad, diversifying export markets. Sharing about choosing Vietnam to promote seafood exports, Mr. Toru Yoshimatsu said that Vietnam has strengths in seafood processing with many factories with large capacity, meeting standards for exporting to most markets in the world. Therefore, Japanese seafood enterprises wish to increase cooperation and place orders for processing products for export to other markets.

Mr. Toru Yoshimatsu also said, “Japan has geographical characteristics to specialize in raising specialty seafood, typically scallops, red sea bream, orange bream... with large reserves and stable, continuous supply. Japan also masters the technology of catching, processing, and freezing to ensure absolute freshness of food when transported under suitable conditions, ensuring food hygiene to countries like Vietnam.

In addition, on the Vietnamese side, with a further prospect of large reserves, stable supply capacity, combined with Vietnam's processing talent and export distribution conditions, we expect Vietnamese enterprises to process, import Japanese seafood and distribute it around the world, thereby bringing good value and efficiency to both sides," added Mr. Toru Yoshimatsu Toru.

Vietnam is the third largest seafood supplier to Japan.

Vietnam is the third largest seafood supplier to Japan. It is known that in the Vietnam - Japan seafood import-export trade partnership, in 2023, according to data from the Japan Customs Agency, Vietnam is not out of the trend of decreasing seafood imports from Japan compared to 2022, except for the United States, Indonesia and South Korea.

Accordingly, although Vietnam maintains its position as the third largest seafood supplier to Japan, it is the market with the second largest decrease in volume after Russia, down 13.2% compared to 2022, reaching 132 thousand tons. The market share of Vietnamese seafood in Japan's total imports will decrease from 7.8% in 2022 to 7.1% in 2023.

The IUU yellow card continues to be a challenge for seafood exports. If it is not resolved in 2024, it will cause exports to the EU to stagnate because the procedures for confirming and certifying exploited seafood are still inadequate due to factors such as resources, human resources and infrastructure. Industries such as tuna, squid, octopus and marine fish are most affected. However, Vietnamese enterprises may also increase imports of raw materials for export production and increase processing for Japanese markets.

Vasep forecasts that Vietnamese seafood exports will gradually recover and be more positive in the second half of 2024. With businesses adapting and adjusting to the market context, seafood export turnover will recover to 9.5-10 billion USD in 2024; In which, the shrimp industry aims for 4 billion USD, pangasius reaches about 1.9 billion USD, the rest are seafood products forecast to earn about 3.6-3.8 billion USD.

The event introducing seafood, especially scallops in Ho Chi Minh City, the largest economic center of Vietnam, is one of the activities to promote the attractiveness of Japanese seafood; this is the platform aimed at importers, distributors, retailers, chefs and related businesses in the food sector in Vietnam, thereby promoting the exchange of seafood trade and cooperation in developing the supply chain between Vietnam and Japan. Especially aiming to promote cooperation in processing and exporting seafood between businesses of the two countries.

Source: Tep Bac