Far from stopping at purely increasing trade turnover, the powerful breakthrough of scallop commodities in the first half of 2026 reflects a strategic transformation: Vietnamese enterprises are capitalizing on deep-processing capabilities to proactively participate deeper in global supply chains.

Record growth and shifting trends across key markets

Latest statistics from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) reveal a breakthrough development cycle for the bivalve mollusk sector. In the first 6 months of 2026, Vietnam's scallop export turnover touched the nearly 49 million USD mark, surging by 141% compared to the same period in 2025. To illustrate the scale of this growth, the export value for the first half of this year surpassed full-year 2024 results (44 million USD) by 10% and equaled nearly 74% of full-year 2025 turnover (66 million USD). Monthly revenue maintained a consistently high floor, averaging between 6.9 and 8.7 million USD per month (with January alone peaking at 10.1 million USD), affirming that this represents sustainable endogenous growth rather than short-term opportunistic shipments.

Notably, this growth is closely tied to structural trade shifts across major markets, where three nations—Japan, Australia, and the United States—dominate nearly 56% of Vietnam's total export turnover. Leading the group is Japan with over 9 million USD (up 126%), a market clearly reflecting a "raw material import – toll processing – re-export" model. Disruption and realignment within Japan's domestic supply chain opened opportunities for Vietnamese plants to receive unprocessed scallop raw materials, execute shucking, primary processing, and standardized quick-freezing workflows before exporting back to Japan or distributing to third countries.

Concurrently, Australia delivered a major surprise by reaching 9.3 million USD, recording a record growth rate of 1,136%. Although part of this rapid growth stems from a low baseline in the previous year, securing a market scale on par with Japan demonstrates that Vietnamese enterprises have successfully negotiated major orders, establishing a solid foothold in the Oceanian market.

Opportunities to establish a processing hub and the quality control equation

Viewed from a market analysis perspective, the acceleration of scallop export turnover over the past 6 months proves the flexible adaptive capacity of Vietnam's seafood sector. By leveraging strengths in operational costs, modern processing workflows, and high labor skills, domestic enterprises are gradually transforming Vietnam into an essential "value-added tolling link" for the global mollusk industry. Proactively sourcing imported raw materials combined with efficiently exploiting output markets helps diminish risks associated with seasonal domestic wild-harvesting cycles.

However, major opportunities invariably accompany strict technical barriers. Maintaining standing across demanding markets like the US, Australia, or Japan through the second half of 2026 requires enterprises to confront a comprehensive quality management equation. Mandates regarding origin traceability, microbiological control, toxin monitoring in bivalve mollusks, and compliance with international food safety standards will serve as the "key" deciding capabilities to retain long-term contracts.

The breakthrough of scallop commodities in the first half of 2026 has opened new development headroom. Transitioning from a raw export mindset to proactively deep processing and participating in global value chains will serve as the pivotal direction helping Vietnam's seafood industry continue affirming its prestige on the international commercial stage.

Source: Tap chi Doanh nghiep va Hoi nhap