Aquatic product exports drop strongly in first half of August

Aquatic exports in the first half of August were strongly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching only 263.8 million USD, down 41 percent compared to the second half of July and 30.1 percent from the same period in 2020.

However, thanks to the good growth in the first seven months of the year, total earnings from aquatic products this year to August 15 reached 5.2 billion USD, up 9.8 percent year-on-year, according to the Export-Import Department at the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

In the first seven months of 2021, the aquatic export turnover rose by 13.27 percent year-on-year, hitting nearly 4.98 billion USD, accounting for 2.67 percent of the country’s total export value of goods.

Le Hang, Deputy Director of the VASEP.PRO centre at the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, said that the application of social distancing measures from the second half of July in southern localities caused a marked slowdown in processing and production.

By now, the average production capacity of processors in the southern region has been reduced to only 40-50 percent compared to normal time. It is estimated to decrease to only 30-40 percent in the coming time.

The decline in production over the past month will certainly lead to a sharp decrease in  export turnover in August compared to previous months and the same period last year, Hang said.

The export of tra fish has suffered the biggest loss because more than half of the processing factories, most of which in the southern region, have been shut down temporarily, she added.