In May 2024, the country's seafood exports were estimated to reach 870 million USD, an increase of over 7% compared to the same period last year. Exports of tuna and crab saw significant breakthroughs, while exports of tra fish, squid, and octopus saw slight increases. Only shrimp exports were slightly lower than the same period last year. Cumulatively, in the first five months of the year, seafood exports reached 3.6 billion USD, up 6.5% compared to the same period in 2023.

In May 2024, tuna exports increased by 36% to over 95 million USD, with canned tuna products increasing by 18%, pouch-packed tuna increasing by more than 3.5 times, frozen loin/fillet tuna increasing by 25%, and whole frozen tuna increasing by more than 7 times compared to May 2023. Cumulatively, by the end of May 2024, tuna exports reached nearly 397 million USD, up 25% compared to the same period in 2023.

Crab exports in May increased by nearly 92%, reaching over 26 million USD. In the first five months, crab exports reached 101 million USD, up 84%, mainly thanks to crab products increasing more than 2 times compared to the same period. The two largest markets, China and Japan, both increased their imports of Vietnamese crab. China is the largest market for live Vietnamese crab, with an 11-fold increase in imports compared to the same period in 2023. For the Japanese market, Vietnam primarily exports finished snow crab products: snow crab meat, deshelled snow crab, snow crab claws, and a small portion of ground freshwater crab.

Tra fish exports increased by 10%, and exports of squid, octopus, and other fish species all increased slightly by 3% in May. In the first five months of the year, tra fish exports brought in nearly 755 million USD, up slightly by 3% compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, marine fish exports decreased by 3% to 742 million USD, and squid and octopus exports reached 236 million USD, down nearly 2% compared to the same period last year.In May 2024, shrimp exports decreased by 1.5% to 326 million USD, but cumulatively in the first five months of the year, they still maintained positive growth of 7%, reaching 1.3 billion USD.

Although there hasn't been a significant breakthrough, in general, major markets have shown signs of gradual recovery in both demand and import prices. Accordingly, seafood exports to the US, Japan, the EU, and South Korea all saw positive growth in May, with increases ranging from 5-26%, while exports to China decreased by 8% compared to the same period. By the end of May, the US still led with a growth rate of 13%, reaching 635 million USD in import value of seafood from Vietnam. Exports to Japan, China, South Korea, and the EU only saw modest growth of 3-4% compared to the same period in 2023.

Source: VASEP