VIETNAM SEAFOOD EXPORTS SHOW SIGNS OF RECOVERY

Vietnam seafood exports show signs of recovery. After a continuous decline in the second half of 2023, in the first quarter of 2024, Vietnam’s seafood exports showed signs of a slight recovery with an increase of 6.5% over the same period last year, reaching nearly 2 billion USD. Exports made a strong breakthrough in January, before the Lunar New Year, but tended to slow down in February and March.

The US and China were the two markets that have determined the growth of Vietnamese seafood in the last two years. In the first quarter, seafood exports to China and the US increased positively, thanks to increased demand for the Lunar New Year.

Shrimp, crab, and tuna exports had good sales growth in the first quarter and have a more positive outlook this year. Meanwhile, pangasius exports still decreased slightly over the same period. Other products, such as cephalopod, molluscs, fish cakes, surimi, and some marine fish species, still did not have good signals in the first quarter of this year.

Inflation and inventory continue to impact seafood consumption and imports in many markets. Besides, there are still many challenges and barriers in 2024 that are affecting Vietnam’s seafood production and export, such as the IUU yellow card for marine caught seafood, the countervailing duty (CVD) on warm water shrimp exported to the US, Red Sea tensions, increased shipping costs, etc.

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