SEAFOOD EXPORT REACHED 8.33 BILLION USD IN 10 MONTHS

According to the General Statistics Office, Vietnam’s seafood production in October 2024 is about 870.7 thousand tons, up 2.6% over the same period last year.

In the first 10 months of 2024, Vietnam’s seafood production is about 7,889.8 thousand tons, up 2.5% over the same period last year.

Vietnam’s seafood export turnover in the first 10 months of 2024 reached 8.33 billion USD, up 12% over the same period last year.

In October 2024 alone, Vietnam’s seafood export turnover reached 1.1 billion USD, up nearly 31% over the same period last year. According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), this is the first time in 27 months (since June 2022) that monthly seafood exports have returned to one billion USD.

According to VASEP, in the group of seafood products, crab and mollusk maintained strong growth from the beginning of the year. In October, exports of crabs and other crustaceans increased by 58%, while mollusk increased by 138%.

Shrimp and catfish are two items with great growth potential. By the end of October, shrimp exports had reached more than 3.2 billion USD, up 13%. Meanwhile, catfish exports were nearly 1.7 billion USD, up 10%. In October alone, shrimp and catfish exports made a strong breakthrough, with increases of 26% and 24%, respectively. VASEP said that in 2024, both shrimp and catfish will continue to be the key products thanks to growing demand and recovering prices in markets such as the US, China, Japan, and Australia.

Catfish is one of the key export items of Vietnam.

In terms of markets, the US, China, and Japan are the three largest seafood consumer markets of Vietnam, accounting for a market share of 18.5%, 16.8%, and 15.4%, respectively. Among the 15 main seafood export markets, Russia had the strongest increase in export value with 94.8%.

If the growth rate of 20% over the past 10 months continues, VASEP predicts that seafood exports to China will likely surpass those to the US in the final months of the year. Then, China could become the largest import market for Vietnamese seafood.

Mr. Phung Duc Tien, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said: “If the turnover each month is about 1.8 billion USD in the last two months of the year, we can achieve the plan of 10 billion USD. At this rate, seafood exports will reach over 10 billion USD in 2024.”