In the first quarter, Vietnam's shrimp exports to South Korea reached nearly USD 104 million, an increase of 52% over the same period last year. This is a positive signal for Vietnamese shrimp because in the 2019 - 2021 period, shrimp exports to this market do not fluctuate much. Currently, South Korea is Vietnam's third largest white leg shrimp export market after the US and Japan.

Currently, South Korea is Vietnam's third largest white leg shrimp export market after the US and Japan. In the first quarter of this year, Korea continues to give priority to whiteleg shrimp orders.

Specifically, in the first quarter, the structure of Vietnamese shrimp products exported to South Korea, the export value of whiteleg shrimp accounted for 86% while black tiger shrimp accounted for only 3%; whiteleg shrimp exports increased by 56% while black tiger shrimp decreased by 14%.

Notably, the export value of live/fresh/frozen vannamei shrimp to South Korea grew the most by 85% over the same period last year.

The most popular black tiger shrimp products in the South Korean market are whiteleg shrimp with head removed, peeled with tail on, fresh and frozen Nobashi vannamei, fresh and frozen sushi whiteleg shrimp, and frozen white leg shrimp, etc.

In addition, this market also imports fresh and frozen PTO black tiger shrimp and frozen PD black tiger shrimp from Vietnam.

According to ITC statistics, in the first two months of the year, South Korea imported nearly USD 135 million of shrimp, an increase of 33% over the same period in 2021.

Currently, Vietnam is the largest shrimp supplier to South Korea, accounting for an overwhelming market share of 44.5% compared to other competitors (Canada accounted for 11%, Ecuador accounted for 9.5%, China accounted for 8%). In the South Korean market, Vietnam’s shrimp do not have to compete fiercely with shrimp from other sources.

Therefore, VASEP believes that Vietnam's shrimp exports to South Korea are expected to continue to increase in the near future thanks to the support from Trade Agreements with South Korea such as the Vietnam - South Korea Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA) which took effect from December 2015 and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) which took effect from January 2022.

Kylie Nguyen