According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, in the first six months of 2022, seafood exports are estimated at nearly USD 5.8 billion, an increase of 40% compared to the first half of 2021.

Although growth is slowing, seafood exports in June 2022 still brought in over USD 1 billion in foreign currency, equivalent to the amount of foreign currency earned in May 2022 and increased by 23% over the same period last year.

Thus, in the second quarter of 2022, the country's seafood exports recorded sales of over USD 3.2 billion, nearly 36% higher than the figure of USD 2.4 billion in the same period in 2021. With the above results, as of the end of the first half of this year, Vietnam's seafood exports are estimated at nearly USD 5.8 billion, an increase of 40% compared to the first half of 2021.

In the first half of 2022, shrimp exports reached USD 2.3 billion, an increase of 33% over the same period and accounting for 40% of total seafood exports. It is noteworthy that lobster exports grew at a record with nearly USD 130 million in the first half of the year, an increase of 30 times over the same period last year. Despite inflation, the export of black tiger shrimp in the first half of the year still increased by 20% to more than USD 300 million.

In June 2022, pangasius exports still maintained a high growth rate of 54% over the same period, reaching nearly USD 220 million. Accumulated over the first 6 months of the year, the country's pangasius exports reached over USD 1.4 billion, an increase of 83% over the same period last year and accounting for 25% of seafood export turnover. Notably, pangasius exports to the UK in the first half of this year increased by 6 times over the same period; exports to Spain nearly tripled; exports to France, the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium all increased by 45-90%.

Tuna exports in June 2022 reached over USD 91 million, an increase of 43%. Total tuna exports in the first half of the year increased by 56% to USD 553 million, accounting for nearly 10% of seafood exports. The main product is still loin tuna (the loin on the back of the tuna), frozen cut, bringing in USD 377 million, an increase of 122%.

More than half of tuna exports go to the US market with high consumption, high growth. While tuna exports to the US nearly doubled, exports to the EU only increased by 9%, a much more modest increase compared to other markets, mainly thanks to an increase in average export prices.

Export of squid and octopus in June 2022 reached over USD 68 million, an increase of 34% over the same period. As of the end of the first half of the year, cephalopod products brought in a turnover of USD 344 million, an increase of 29% over the same period last year, accounting for 6% of seafood export turnover. In which, squid exports reached  USD 197 million, an increase of 45%, octopus exports reached USD 147 million, an increase of 12%.

Kylie Nguyen