In the first quarter of 2025, seafood export turnover reached 2.45 billion USD, an increase of 26% over the same period last year; in which, the export turnover of shellfish increased by 115% and crab and swimming crab increased by 66%...

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), seafood export turnover in March 2025 reached nearly 889 million USD, an increase of nearly 20% compared to March 2024. This result shows that the growth momentum is still maintained. In the first quarter of 2025, Vietnam's seafood exports recovered impressively, with turnover reaching 2.45 billion USD, an increase of 26% compared to the same period in 2024.

KEY PRODUCTS GROWING STRONGLY TOGETHER

Shrimp of all kinds continued to lead with a turnover of 931.6 million USD in the first quarter of the year, up 35.7% over the same period last year. Of which, shrimp exports in March 2025 alone reached 327 million USD, up 20.4% over March 2024. This remarkable growth comes from strong demand in major markets such as China (after Lunar New Year), the United States, and the EU, where trade agreements such as EVFTA are taking effect.

Pangasius products also contributed 465 million USD in the first quarter of 2025, up 13% over the same period last year. In March 2025 alone, pangasius exports brought in 181 million USD, up 16.1% over March 2024. Stable raw pangasius prices and a strategy to promote value-added products have helped these two products maintain their leading position.

However, the growth rate of pangasius is somewhat slower than that of shrimp, partly reflecting the slowdown in market demand in the first months of the year, in the context of geopolitical fluctuations and anti-dumping tax pressure in the United States. Meanwhile, although Vietnamese shrimp has maintained its growth momentum, it still faces fierce competition from Ecuador and India - countries with advantages in price and production scale.

Seafood exports in March 2025 and the first quarter. Source: VASEP

A notable bright spot is the breakthrough of crab, crab and shellfish groups. Crabs and crabs reached a turnover of 86.4 million USD in the first quarter, up 66% compared to the same period last year, thanks to the surge in demand from China during Tet. In particular, shellfish (clams, mussels, oysters) were even more impressive with an increase of 115%, reaching 64.9 million USD.

“Although the absolute value is not high, this growth rate shows the great potential of small product groups in diversifying the export structure. However, by March, these groups showed signs of slowing down (crabs increased by 27.9%, shellfish increased by 89.7%), reflecting the cooling of demand after the peak season during Tet,” said Ms. Le Hang, Deputy Secretary General of VASEP.

TUNA EXPORTS ARE Gloomy

In contrast to the general picture of the seafood industry, tuna was the only product group that recorded a decrease in turnover in March 2025, reaching only 83.3 million USD (down 0.7%). However, in the first 3 months of the year, tuna export turnover still increased slightly by 3.6%, reaching 222.7 million USD.

The main reason for the decrease in tuna exports last month was the pressure from IUU regulations, in which the regulation on the minimum size of tuna of 0.5m has tightened the source of raw materials for processing and export.

In addition, the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of the United States - the largest market for Vietnamese tuna - is also a challenge for the tuna industry. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has initially issued a preliminary notice of non-recognition of equivalence for the Vietnamese seafood industry, which means that if NOAA's requirements are not met on time, Vietnamese seafood will be banned from being imported into the US from January 1, 2026.

"If there is no quick solution, Vietnamese tuna is at risk of losing market share in the US, and at the same time, it will have a domino effect on other exploited products such as squid and octopus," Ms. Le Hang warned.

According to VASEP, trade barriers such as the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), the IUU yellow card from the EU, and the possibility of increased tariffs from the US under the new administration are challenges that the Vietnamese seafood industry will continue to face and need solutions in 2025.

Previously, on March 25, 2025, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh signed and issued Directive No. 10/CT-TTg on promoting the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, in which, along with directing drastic, synchronous and effective solutions to support the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, the Prime Minister also paid attention to directing a number of important issues of the fisheries sector.

Accordingly, the Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to urgently preside over and coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss with the United States to extend the time for completing the dossier and equivalence assessment, and at the same time complete the dossier in accordance with the US Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) to ensure that it does not affect the exploitation, production, processing and export of seafood to the United States, and report to the Prime Minister before April 15, 2025.

The Prime Minister requested ministries and branches to proactively review and complete the legal framework related to the management of exploitation, production and export of aquatic products in accordance with products exported to Europe; deploy diplomatic solutions and support fishermen in legal exploitation to completely handle the yellow card warning for illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing for Vietnamese aquatic products.

The Prime Minister also directed the study and development of a Strategy for the development of the by-product raw material industry to increase the value of agricultural products, build a new raw material industry, create new competitive advantages for the agricultural economy, and report to the Prime Minister in the second quarter of 2025.

Source: VnEconomy