Aquatic product exports in Q1 predicted to hit 1.64 bln USD

• Tien Giang to expand aquatic farming area to over 10,500 ha
• Aquatic companies’ profits hurt by disease
• Aquatic exports to China shows sign of recovery

Aquatic product exports in Q1 predicted to hit 1.64 bln USD

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), in the first two months of this year, Vietnam’s aquatic export activities was affected by a shortage of ships and containers and increasing freight charges, particularly in terms of freight to the US and EU. 

At the same time, China also tightened its control of COVID-19 pandemic regarding imported aquatic products, causing difficulties for Vietnamese aquatic exports.

However, the global shortage of containers began to improve in mid-March and China has loosened its pandemic control measures over imported goods, thus boosting Vietnam’s aquatic exports.

After increasing by 16 percent in January, shrimp exports were down 10 percent in February but bounced back to grow 10 percent in March. Total export turnover is estimated at 646 million USD in the first quarter, up nearly 3 percent year-on-year.

Tra fish exports, meanwhile, enjoyed growth of 11 percent in March after falling 5.5 percent during January-February. Vietnam earned a total of 336 million USD from exporting tra fish in the first quarter, a slight rise of 0.6 percent year-on-year.

Thanks to preferences in the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, the export of squid and octopus to the EU market is also recovering, pushing up export value by 8 percent in March.

Aquatic businesses said the COVID-19 pandemic remains serious in many traditional export markets, causing demand for several key Vietnamese aquatic products to fall but opening up more opportunities for dried and canned products. VASEP predicts that aquatic exports will not recover strongly in April, with growth reaching only 10 percent to 680 million USD.