According to information from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), seafood export turnover in May is estimated at USD 870 million, an increase of more than 7% over the same period last year; Of which, exports of tuna and crab continued to increase strongly, while exports of pangasius, squid, and octopus only increased slightly.

Accumulated over the first five months of the year, the country's seafood exports reached USD 3.6 billion, an increase of 6.5% over the same period in 2023.

Specifically, in May, tuna exports increased by 36% to over USD 95 million; of which, exports of canned tuna products increased by 18%, bagged tuna increased by more than 3.5 times, frozen tuna loin/fillet increased by 25% and frozen whole tuna increased by more than 7 times compared to May 2023.

Accumulated as of the end of May 2024, tuna exports reached nearly USD 397 million, an increase of 25% over the same period in 2023.

According to Ms. Nguyen Ha, tuna market expert, entering 2024, Vietnam's canned tuna exports tend to increase faster month by month. After facing record high inflation and interest rates, consumers in many places tend to tighten their spending. Therefore, the demand for cheap products such as canned tuna increases.

Enjoying preferential tariffs under the agreement in the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has promoted Vietnam's canned tuna exports to this market block in the first months of the year. In addition to Israel, canned tuna exports to other Middle Eastern countries such as Lebanon and Egypt are also experiencing high growth rates, Ms. Ha informed..

In addition to tuna, crab and sentinel crab exports in May also had a strong breakthrough with an increase of nearly 92%, reaching over USD 26 million. Accumulated over the first five months of 2024, crab export turnover reached USD 101 million, an increase of 84%, mainly thanks to crab products with an increase of more than 2 times over the same period.

The two largest markets, China and Japan, both increased Vietnam's crab imports; of which, China is Vietnam's largest live crab consumption market, with imports increasing 11 times over the same period in 2023. To the Japanese market, Vietnam mainly exports snow crab products such as snow crab meat, shelled snow crab, snow crab claws and a small proportion of ground crab.

Following the same trend, pangasius exports in May had positive changes, an increase of 10%; accumulated over the first five months of the year, pangasius exports brought in nearly USD 755 million, a slight increase of 3% over the same period last year. Exports of octopus and squid both increased by 3% in May, but accumulated over the 5 months decreased by nearly 2% over the same period, reaching USD 236 million.

According to VASEP, although there has not been a strong breakthrough, in general, Vietnam's major seafood export markets have shown signs of gradual recovery in both demand and import prices. Accordingly, seafood exports to the US, Japan, EU, and Korea Republic all gained positive growth in May with an increase of 5-26%.

Kylie Nguyen