Seafood exports in the first 6 months reached nearly 5.8 billion USD, up 12.8% compared to the same period last year. However, in the second half of the year, logistics, costs, and trade barriers remain major challenges.

Shrimp and pangasius still affirm their positions

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), in June 2026, Vietnam's seafood exports reached nearly 1.1 billion USD, up 21% compared to the same period in 2025. Accumulatively for the first 6 months of the year, our country's seafood export turnover reached nearly 5.8 billion USD, up 12.8%.

Shrimp continues to hold the position as the core export commodity of Vietnamese seafood. Accumulatively for the first 6 months of the year, shrimp export turnover reached 2.3 billion USD, up 13.6% compared to the same period, accounting for 40.5% of the total sector turnover. Not only contributing the most to the overall growth, shrimp is also expected to continue serving as an important driver helping the seafood industry accomplish its 2026 export target.

Pangasius firmly maintains its position as the second pillar. Pangasius exports in the first 6 months of 2026 reached 1.1 billion USD, up 12.1%, accounting for 19.4% of the total turnover. This increase demonstrates that the demand for reasonably priced white-flesh fish remains stable against a backdrop where consumers in many markets possess a tendency to save on spending. Vietnamese pangasius continues to possess advantages in price, large supply sources, flexible processing capacities, and suitability for many consumption channels such as retail, restaurants, industrial kitchens, and re-processing.

The other fish group (primarily marine fish types and a number of other freshwater fish) reached a scale nearly equivalent to pangasius. In June, exports of this group reached 198.8 million USD, up 19.8%; accumulatively for 6 months, it reached 1.1 billion USD, up 12.0%, accounting for 19.3% of the total turnover. This is a commodity group that demonstrates increasingly clear diversification in the structure of Vietnamese seafood exports. However, marine fish products and wild-caught seafood still bear heavy pressure regarding raw material sources, legal catch certifications, traceability, and requirements on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing from the EU, and the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) from the US.

Tuna is a commodity group possessing mixed developments. In June 2026, tuna exports reached 85.9 million USD, up 28%, but accumulatively for 6 months only reached 452.7 million USD, down 2%. This demonstrates that June possessed recovery signals, yet was insufficient to offset the decreases of previous months. The tuna market currently bears impacts from slow purchasing power, raw material prices, canned processing costs, and increasingly high requirements on sustainable exploitation. In the EU, the control of catch dossiers, certifications, and electronic traceability systems may continue to affect customs clearance speeds and goods import plans.

The mollusk and crab groups serve as notable bright spots. Squid and octopus exports in June reached 77.9 million USD, up 26.5%; accumulatively reaching more than 380 million USD, up 18.8%. This group continues to receive support from demand in Asian markets such as South Korea, Japan, Thailand, and China. Crabs and other crustaceans reached 45.3 million USD in June, up 55.1%; accumulatively reaching 206.2 million USD, up 26.2%. Shelled mollusks increased more powerfully, reaching 31.3 million USD in June, up 77.8%; accumulatively reaching 155.3 million USD, up 33.1%. Other mollusks, though small in scale, reaching 6.1 million USD in 6 months, surged by 84.4%.

Regarding markets, China and Hong Kong continue to be the largest importing region, while concurrently serving as the prominent growth driver of Vietnamese seafood. Accumulatively for the first 6 months of the year, export turnover to this market reached 1.5 billion USD, up 37.9% compared to the same period, accounting for 25.8% of the country's total seafood export turnover. This constitutes the highest increase level within the group of core export markets, demonstrating the increasingly crucial role of China against multiple items such as shrimp, pangasius, lobsters, mollusks, and live or frozen seafood products.

Ms. Le Hang, Deputy General Secretary of VASEP, evaluated that the result of 5.8 billion USD after 6 months serves as a positive foundation for the double-digit growth target of seafood exports in 2026.

Many challenges for the second half of the year

Although the first 6 months' results create a positive foundation for the full-year growth target, enterprises are still unable to be optimistic as multiple uncertain factors are intensifying in the second half of the year.

According to enterprises and experts, pressure currently no longer originates from market demand but is shifting progressively toward transportation costs, raw material sources, and trade barriers.

Ms. Le Hang stated that global container freight rates are emerging as a major challenge for seafood exports in the second half of the year. International container freight is approaching its highest level in nearly 2 years.

For the shrimp industry, the market is experiencing a mismatch between domestic production and import demand at a number of markets. While many growing households switch to raising large-sized shrimp aiming to optimize value on each unit of output volume, the demand at a number of large markets instead concentrates on small-sized shrimp, which is suitable for the economical consumption segment and the cost-cutting trend. This difference can affect the order signing speed, product structures, as well as raw material purchasing plans of export processing enterprises.

Apart from price pressure, the Vietnamese shrimp industry also has to face trade remedy measures, particularly anti-dumping cases, anti-subsidy duties, and administrative review rounds at a number of core export markets, especially the US.

For pangasius, VASEP stated that rising production costs are clearly affecting stocking sentiments and raw material zone development plans of enterprises.

Breeding fish prices maintaining at high levels from 2025 until now, along with feed, transportation, and multiple other production costs, make growers more cautious in expanding areas. If this trend continues to stretch, farming costs can increase additionally by around 5 - 7% each quarter in the coming time, exerting pressure on raw material production costs and profit margins of export processing enterprises.

Ms. Le Hang, Deputy General Secretary of VASEP, stated: “In the second half of the year, the seafood industry needs to simultaneously maintain momentum in growth markets like China, ASEAN, and South Korea; consolidate compliance in the US, the EU, and Japan; control input and logistics costs well; and concurrently raise the proportion of deeply processed, value-added products.”

Source: Bao Nong nghiep va Moi truong