In the first half of 2024, seafood exports earned over 4.4 billion USD, especially lobster exports increased 57 times over the same period to more than 130 million USD.

Seafood exports earned over 4.4 billion USD

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), in June 2024, the country's seafood exports are estimated to reach 875 million USD, up 14% over the same period last year. This is also the month with the highest export turnover from the beginning of the year until now. Accordingly, accumulated seafood exports in the first half of this year brought in over 4.4 billion USD, up nearly 7% over the same period in 2023.

Exports of most key products had high growth in June, of which, pangasius exports increased by 22%, tuna increased by 40%, and crab increased by 59%. Shrimp products alone increased slightly by 7%. Squid and octopus are the only products that decreased slightly compared to the same period last year.

In the first half of this year, shrimp exports brought in more than 1.6 billion USD, 7% higher than the same period last year. Of which, whiteleg shrimp reached nearly 1.2 billion USD, a slight increase of 3%, and black tiger shrimp reached over 200 million USD, a decrease of 10%. Lobster exports alone increased 57 times over the same period, reaching more than 130 million USD.

Pangasius exports in the first half of this year reached 922 million USD, up nearly 6% over the same period. Although demand has improved, export prices to markets are still low, such as China, EU, UK... Only the US market has better signals in terms of both price and import volume.

Tuna exports in the first half of this year increased nearly 25% to 477 million USD, mainly thanks to the strong increase in the canned and bagged fish segment. Meanwhile, squid and octopus exports decreased slightly by 1% to 289 million USD, of which a decrease in squid products, while octopus exports still increased.

In addition to tuna, there are many marine fish products that have strong demand and sales in the first half of this year. Of which, seabass had an export growth of 27% reaching over 36 million USD, yellow snapper increased by 14% to reach over 29 million USD, mackerel increased by 6%, pollock increased by 8% to reach 38 million USD, amberjack increased 96%. Some freshwater fish species with increased import demand include: red tilapia increased by 32%, perch increased by 18%, and eel increased by 93%.

EU market records highest export growth of 40%

Seafood exports to the Top 2 largest markets, the US and China - Hong Kong (China) both recorded high growth in June; Specifically, seafood exports to the US increased by 14%, and to the China - Hong Kong (China) market increased by 18%.

The US economy this year has positive signs. Inflation in the US has dropped rapidly from 9% to 3% this year. The US will soon move to cut interest rates this year to stimulate consumer demand, so there will be good opportunities for exporters. In the first half of the year, seafood exports to the US market reached 733 million USD, an increase of 9%. Meanwhile, exports to China - Hong Kong (China) in the first half of the year increased by 7% to 766 million USD.

Exports to Japan in June only increased slightly by 2% over the same period. By the end of June 2024, seafood exports to Japan reached 705 million USD, a slight decrease of 1% compared to the first half of 2023. The Japanese Yen depreciated by 12% compared to the USD and was the currency that lost the most value among strong foreign currencies, a factor causing the country's imports to decrease. In addition, the disadvantages caused by China banning the import of Japanese seafood also contributed to the slowdown of Japanese imports.

Exports to the EU market alone had the highest growth rate (+40%) in June. Accumulated in the first half of 2024, seafood exports to the EU reached 513 million USD, an increase of 12% over the same period last year. The EU market is tending to gradually stabilize. Market prices and consumption are stabilizing, and seafood inflation continued to decline to 2.1% in May. Since March, inflation has fallen even more significantly for frozen seafood , with a negative inflation rate of 0.9% in May. It is forecast that EU seafood demand and imports will increase again after the summer vacation in Europe.

VASEP expects that this year the export situation will stabilize in accordance with the normal cycle, accelerating in the third and fourth quarters, accordingly, export turnover will be about 15% higher than the same period in 2023; reaching over 5.5 billion USD, bringing export results for the whole year 2024 to nearly 10 billion USD, an increase of 12% compared to 2023.

China increased imports and exports of lobster increased sharply

As for lobster products, China is currently the largest import market for this product from Vietnam, accounting for 98 - 99%. According to experts, China's massive purchase of Vietnamese lobsters will cause the export of this product in the first half of 2024 to increase 57 times compared to the same period last year.

Previously, in October 2023, China stopped importing Vietnamese spiny lobsters because of regulations related to the country's Wildlife Protection Law. To export spiny lobsters to China, businesses must prove that the shrimp seeds are not caught directly from the sea, and clearly demonstrate the farming process; Do not use seeds harvested from the wild, meaning the seeds must be F2 generation; Importers must have a license...

On January 20, 2024, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam led the Ministry's delegation to work with the People's Government of Guangdong province (China) on trade and agricultural development cooperation. In related working contents, the two sides also agreed to coordinate to handle problems in import and export of sturgeon and rock lobster under a special mechanism and will include it in the Protocol between the two countries. While waiting for the signing of the Protocol, China will consider and create a special mechanism for establishments to register to export lobster to this country.

In Vietnam, many localities can now intensively raise lobsters, with an estimated output of about 4,000 tons/year. Spiny lobster alone has high economic value, generating revenue of about 2,000 billion VND.

As for the Chinese market, Vietnam currently has 46 packaging establishments exporting lobster to this market. Currently, lobster exports to China are trending favorably, but in the long term, it is necessary to aim for official exports. To do so, it is necessary to build chain links from production, purchasing to export, associated with transparent traceability.

According to: Nguyen Hanh - Cong Thuong Newspaper