VIETNAM SEAFOOD EXPORTS FELL IN AUGUST

Vietnam seafood exports fell in August. Vietnam’s seafood exports in the first 8 months of 2021 reached nearly USD 5.6 billion – still up about 7% thanks to strong export performance in the first 7 months of the year. Shrimp exports increased 6.4% to US $ 2.45 billion, pangasius exports reached US $ 993 million, an increase of 8.8%, tuna exports increased by 12%, and cephalopods and other fish exports increased by 4-5%.

By the end of August, seafood exports to the US were still growing at nearly 27%, while those to the EU were up 10%. Exports to Korea are equivalent to the same period last year. Of the top five markets, exports to China fell sharply by 14.6%, while exports to Japan fell by almost 3%. In addition to the US and the EU, exports to Australia and Russia were still at high growth rates after 8 months, increasing by 25% and 52% respectively over the same period last year.

The Covid-19 pandemic has severely impacted Vietnam’s seafood sector, which accounts for 90-95% of the country’s seafood export turnover, creating hardships for the business community.

The seafood export results in August 2021 clearly reflected the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic on the seafood industry. With a turnover of US $ 588 million, seafood exports in August 2021 were down nearly 28% year-on-year and were down for most major products. Exports of shrimp, pangasius, tuna, squid, octopus, crabs and other marine fish have decreased by 20-33% compared to the same period in 2020.

Exports to all markets in August 2021 decreased by 16-50% compared to the same period in 2020. Accordingly, exports to China and Japan fell sharply by 36%, to the EU – by 32% (only to the Netherlands it decreased by almost 50%, Germany reduced purchases by 42%). Exports to the United States and Russia fell by at least 16%. Exports to the UK fell 48%, to Australia and Canada – 35% and 37%, respectively.

However, the Vietnamese government and seafood businesses are hoping that conditions and support programs will be in place to reopen supply chains and gradually recover production and exports. As the epidemic control situation improves, and the epidemic control policies and measures are reasonable and appropriate for both economic goals, seafood exports will accelerate in the last 3 months of the year, especially from October, a time when demand and export orders have traditionally increased.

Source: Fishretail.ru