According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), Vietnam’s seafood export turnover in November 2023 reached nearly 840 million USD, up 6% over the same period in 2022. In 11 months of 2023, fishery exports reached 8.27 billion USD, down 19% over the same period last year…
Vietnam no longer has a “monopoly” position on catfish.
VASEP said that in November 2023, exports of main fishery products were higher than in the same period last year. In particular, shrimp increased by 4%, tuna increased by 26%, catfish increased by 12%, squid and octopus increased by 3%, and others increased by 4%. Particularly for the export of molluscous with shells, the turnover is still lower than in the same period last year,
CATFISH AND SHRIMP EXPORTS DECREASED SHARPLY
By the end of November 2023, catfish exports had reached nearly 1.7 billion USD, 26% lower than in the same period last year. The average price of exported catfish decreased in major markets, especially the US and China, which pulled the value of catfish exports lower than in 2022.
However, catfish exports are showing more positive signals in China, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, the UK, etc. In addition to catfish fillets, the main product, by-products such as dried catfish and rolls are of interest to many markets such as the US, China, Malaysia, and Singapore.
For shrimp products, by November 2023, exports were estimated at 3.15 billion USD, down 22% over the same period last year. VASEP said that shrimp exports are dominated by price competition in the context of excess world shrimp supply and low selling prices. Shrimp exports to most major markets were lower than in the same period last year, except for a few small markets such as Hong Kong and Switzerland increased by 5%, and Taiwan increased by 19%.
“China is likely to maintain a strong import trend in the last quarter of 2023 for the peak consumption season of December, January, and February 2024. Notably, in the US, the increase in consumer demand will be met by imports from Latin America due to lower logistics costs. Inflation is falling in all major countries in Europe. However, traders do not want to start buying for Christmas due to weak demand for shrimp,” said Ms. Le Hang, Communications Director of VASEP.
” Fishery exports for the whole year 2023 are estimated to reach about 09 billion USD, down 18% compared to 2022. Shrimp will bring about 3.4 billion USD, 21% less than last year; catfish 1.8 billion USD, down 25%, tuna 850 million USD, down 15%; squid and octopus exports are estimated at 660 million USD, down 14%”.
VASEP
Shrimp exports to most major markets were lower than in the same period last year.
For the shrimp export situation in the coming time, Ms. Hang said that shrimp demand in Southeast Asia and the Far East is expected to improve by the end of the year due to the Christmas and New Year holidays from December 2023 to February 2024. Prices will increase during this period when total production is seasonally low.
Tuna exports in 11 months of 2023 reached about 774 million USD, down 18% over the same period last year. However, tuna has a more positive signal compared to other items. Although tuna exports to the US still decreased by 35%, many markets such as the EU, Thailand, Israel, Mexico, Russia, Korea, the Philippines, and Japan are tending to increase imports of Vietnam’s tuna. Canned and steamed tuna products are in better demand than frozen fillets, chopped fish, etc.
Other types of fish, mainly marine fish, by the end of November 2023, brought 1.74 billion USD in sales, down 7% over the same period in 2022. Exports of squid, octopus, molluscous with shells, and crab by the end of November still grew negatively from 10-13% over the same period last year.
VASEP said that the last two months of 2022 were the period when fishery exports decreased strongly to the lowest level of the year (except for February due to the Lunar New Year holiday). Although the total export turnover of fishery and some key products recorded positive growth in November 2023, it does not show a positive trend. Because there was no breakthrough in sales compared to previous months./.