To date, Vietnam has reached an export scale of 11 billion USD, along with China and Norway in the group of three largest seafood exporting countries in the world. Processed products with high added value are the direction that seafood export enterprises choose to affirm their position.

Persist with quality improvement strategies

Being in the Top 3 seafood exporting countries in the world, Vietnamese seafood always affirms the world with its quality. In the context that world seafood demand is still low, value-added products have their own difficulties, but businesses still persevere with this strategic choice.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), the business strategy of Vietnamese seafood enterprises for many years has been value-added processed products. This is reflected in the shift in product structure in each key export industry. Typically, in the first quarter of this year, frozen pangasius fillets exports decreased by 5%, value-added processed pangasius products increased by 16% and dried pangasius increased by nearly 9%.

Notably, two by-product lines, pangasius maw and fish skin snacks, recorded positive increases; Pangasius fish maw exports alone increased by 17%. Similarly, exported shrimp products also focus on growth in headless and tailless shrimp products. For tuna, canned products have the strongest growth with an increase of 48% over the same period. In markets such as the US, EU, and Japan, value-added products are Vietnam's advantage.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the total value of seafood exports in the first 4 months of this year reached 2.68 billion USD, up 4.2% over the same period last year. Especially shrimp products reached 937 million USD, an increase of 5.9%.

VASEP said that value-added processed shrimp products account for 40-45% of the total annual shrimp export value. The general processing level of Vietnamese shrimp enterprises is at a high level in the world and this is a competitive advantage of Vietnamese shrimp in the Japanese market.

The total value of seafood exports in the first 4 months of this year reached 2.68 billion USD, up 4.2% over the same period last year. Especially shrimp products reached 937 million USD, an increase of 5.9%. (Illustration)

Vietnamese shrimp is leading the market share of high-end shrimp in Japan. Although seafood export is having positive results, according to Mr. Truong Dinh Hoe, General Secretary of VASEP, the major difficulties the industry faces have not yet passed; especially in the context that world market demand has not really "warmed up".

Inflation and inventory continue to impact seafood consumption and imports in many markets. The largest export item, shrimp, still faces difficulties with taxes in the largest export market, the US; or Red Sea tensions increase shipping costs...

In the effort to develop and conquer the world market with value-added products, Vietnamese seafood is facing many difficulties when market demand has been low for a long time.

"Businesses still need to proactively seek opportunities to overcome this difficult time. At the same time, develop value-added products to affirm the corporate brand and position of Vietnamese seafood, " Mr. Truong Dinh Hoe said.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien said that Vietnamese seafood has been having a high level of processing with many value-added products. Many businesses have invested in technology and equipment to increase processed products and value-added products. In particular, many high value-added products such as cooking oil, collagen, gelatin... have been developed thanks to circular economy and green economy.

Overcoming challenges to achieve seafood export target of 14 - 16 billion USD

The project to develop the seafood processing industry for the period 2021-2030 sets the goal of developing modern, effective and sustainable seafood processing, meeting the needs and regulations of the consumer market; improve competitiveness and continue to integrate deeply into the global value chain; strive to make Vietnam a seafood processing center and among the top 5 countries in the world by 2030.

Strive to reach over 6%/year in processed seafood output growth rate by 2030. The proportion of export value of value-added processed aquatic products averages over 40% (of which: shrimp reaches 60%, pangasius reaches 10%, tuna reaches 70%; squid and octopus reach 30% , other aquatic products reached 30%). The value of seafood processing for domestic consumption reached 40,000 - 45,000 billion VND. Contributing to the value of seafood export turnover reaching about 14 - 16 billion USD.

However, besides the results achieved in recent times, Vietnam's seafood export is also facing many difficulties and challenges. Further analysis of this, according to the Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development); One of the big challenges for Vietnamese seafood exports is unstable raw material sources and high production costs, reducing competitiveness.

In addition, Vietnamese seafood must also meet rules of origin, so until now, Vietnamese businesses have only been able to take advantage of 30% of incentives from FTAs. At the same time, besides having to endure strong competition from China, Thailand, Bangladesh, Indonesia, India...; When exported, Vietnamese seafood still faces technical barriers and trade protection such as: anti-dumping tax, anti-subsidy tax; Chemical and antibiotic testing regulations or separate inspection programs, rules of origin, IUU, SPS and TBT regulations, environment, social responsibility, labor...

To date, Vietnam has reached an export scale of 11 billion USD, making it one of the three largest seafood exporting countries in the world. (Illustration)

Facing the above difficulties, Mr. Tran Dinh Luan, Director of the Department of Fisheries, said that the above project aims to achieve a leading position in the field of seafood export with the goal of not only increasing production but also focusing on quality and added value of the product.

However, the implementation of the project of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is also facing some difficulties and limitations: the output market for some aquatic products is not stable; Aquatic products are mainly exported of raw and frozen products without any deeply processed foods; The marine farming industry in Khanh Hoa faces many difficulties. In addition, the association of production, processing, and preservation of seafood, especially farmed seafood, is not sustainable.

According to Mr. Truong Dinh Hoe, General Secretary of VASEP, businesses in the industry need to continue to strengthen quality through activities related to international certification. At the same time, focus on issues related to the green economy, in order to build the brand and the ability to promote Vietnamese seafood products in the global market.

“The Association recommends that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development direct relevant specialized agencies to promote trade in domestic and foreign markets, especially the Chinese market. This is to find a direction as well as master the market, aiming for sustainable seafood export," Mr. Hoe suggested.

Director of the Department of Fisheries Tran Dinh Luan affirmed that the "key" to achieving the goal of Vietnam exporting 14-16 billion USD by 2030 requires close coordination between export processing enterprises; Industry associations and support from the State.

“This requires a shift from a focus on quantity to quality and value. This is a big challenge for the whole industry and especially for state management agencies. Increasing deep processing not only helps increase the value of products but is also an opportunity for Vietnam to dominate the global market," Mr. Tran Dinh Luan emphasized.

Source: VASEP