Vietnam's shrimp exports increased by more than 14% in the first half of the year, reaching 2.3 billion USD primarily thanks to purchasing power from China.

Shrimp exports in June 2026 reached around 458 million USD, up 24% compared to the same period last year. Cumulatively for the first six months of the year, export turnover reached 2.35 billion USD, up 14.2%, according to statistics from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

China and Hong Kong continue to serve as the largest drivers, bringing in around 845 million USD, occupying more than one-third of total shrimp export turnover.

Particularly, the Chinese market rose by 47%, demonstrating that commodity flows are shifting strongly toward the Asian region.

Meanwhile, Japan, South Korea, and Australia also maintained positive purchasing power. In contrast, exports to the European Union merely rose slightly, reflecting that demand in this market has not yet recovered clearly.

Notably, shrimp exports to the US in June reached around 62 million USD, up 32%. However, cumulatively for the six months, it still decreased by 15%, remaining at around 290 million USD.

VASEP considers that the increase in June partly came from enterprises and importers stepping up deliveries prior to unpredictable alterations in tariff policies. Therefore, this flourishing signal might merely bear a short-term nature.

In the US, Vietnamese shrimp continues to bear pressure from anti-dumping duties, anti-subsidy duties, traceability requirements, and fierce competition from large supply sources.

Logistics costs have also not cooled down significantly. According to the Phaata platform, in mid-July, the freight rate for a 40-foot container from Ho Chi Minh City to the US East Coast still remained at a level of nearly 8,920 USD, while the West Coast route was around 6,487 USD.

Meanwhile, routes to China, Japan, and South Korea carry lower costs, shorter delivery times, and faster capital turnover.

This serves as an advantage making the Asian market day by day become the foothold of the shrimp sector. However, growing dependence on China also sets out risks when demand, quarantine policies, and competition levels can alter rapidly.

Source: Bao dien tu Tuoi tre