Vietnam's tuna exports slowed down in August. Export value this month increased by only 3%, reaching nearly 90 million USD. Accumulated in the first 8 months of 2024, export turnover reached nearly 648 million USD, up 19%.

Reduced inventories and the need to import goods to serve the year-end holidays have caused markets to increase imports.

However, the limited supply of skipjack tuna in the country due to regulations on the minimum size allowed for exploitation issued in Decree 37/2024/ND-CP has affected the production and export of canned tuna in Vietnam.

According to statistics from Vietnam Customs, Vietnam's canned tuna exports have continuously decreased since May with an increasing rate of decline. However, thanks to the high growth in the first 4 months of the year, the cumulative export value of this product group still increased by 19%, reaching more than 196 million USD in the first 8 months of 2024.

Meanwhile, Vietnam's exports of frozen tuna meat/loins with HS code 0304 continue to maintain growth, but the growth rate is unstable.

In August, Vietnam's tuna exports recorded impressive growth in the Israeli market after a decline in July, with an increase of 143% compared to August 2023. Along with Israel, tuna exports to Russia also experienced remarkable growth of 119% in August. Meanwhile, tuna exports tended to stagnate in the US market and decrease in the EU market.

For the US market, Vietnam's tuna exports continue to maintain growth, but the growth rate has slowed down in the past 3 months. In August alone, the value of tuna exports to the US increased by only 1%, reaching nearly 37 million USD. In the first 8 months of 2024, exports to this market reached nearly 243 million USD, an increase of 17%. Currently, inventories in the US have decreased, retailers need to replenish inventories before the year-end holiday season. However, shipping lines are forced to change direction to avoid going through the Suez Canal due to security risks in the Red Sea, causing longer shipping times and increasing costs, which is also affecting tuna exports to this market.

In the EU market, competition is increasing among supply sources. Tariff advantages are promoting EU countries' imports from supply sources. In that context, Vietnamese enterprises are losing their advantage due to the sharp decrease in domestic tuna supply, especially skipjack tuna that is eligible for S/C. For that reason, the value of tuna exports to this market decreased by 15% in August. Notably, tuna exports to the two major markets in the bloc, Italy and Germany, both decreased sharply this month, down 50% and 64% respectively.

Source: VASEP