Seafood exports in the third quarter of this year started to increase slightly, experts predict that in the fourth quarter, seafood exports will continue to grow. In particular, shrimp exports to the EU are benefiting from EVFTA.

Due to the negative impact of the pandemic, the trend of seafood consumption on the world market has changed, with products serving service segments such as pangasius and some affordable products decreased in demand because of the requirements of social distancing and lockdown orders in countries.

Among the main export products, only shrimp had a good export growth in the first nine months of the year, especially in the last 6 months, therefore, shrimp export turnover accounts for a dominant proportion, more than 44% of Vietnam's seafood export value (38.5% compared to 2019). Accordingly, shrimp exports in September 2020 reached USD 369 million, an increase of 20% and accumulated as of the end of September 2020, shrimp exports increased by 10% to USD 2.7 billion.

From the third quarter, shrimp enterprises accelerated exports to the US, China and South Korea. Exports to other markets such as the UK and Canada have maintained positive growth from the beginning of the year until now. Only the EU market experienced a 2-quarter decline, down 4% in the first quarter and continued to decline by nearly 10% in the second quarter.

However, the entry into force of the EVFTA Agreement is a factor supporting Vietnam's shrimp exports to this market. Exports started to recover 2% from July and increased sharply by 16% in August 2020, showing that import tax on frozen shrimp into the EU decreased to 0%.

Shrimp exports to South Korea, UK, Australia and Canada in August also increased positively over the same period in 2019, while exports to Japan and China decreased. Specifically, in August, shrimp exports to the UK market surged for the third consecutive month, reaching 10,137 tons, worth USD 109.03 million, an increase of 25.9% in volume and 28.7% in value compared to the previous month. Accumulated in the first 8 months of 2020, shrimp exports to the UK market reached 50.07 thousand tons, worth USD 541.56 million, an increase of 26% in volume and 31.7% in value compared to the same period in 2019. Shrimp exports to the EU in August resume rise, with an increase of 9.5% in volume and 15.6% in value over the same period in 2019.

The Import and Export Department forecasts that in the last months of 2020, Vietnam's shrimp exports will continue to increase due to the shortage of shrimp in the world, especially in India. For the EU market, although Covid-19 reduces demand and makes it difficult to trade seafood, consumption of whiteleg shrimp still tends to increase in this market.

Kylie Nguyen