Vietnam Seafood Export Targets US$5.3 Billion in 2011

Vietnam’s aquatic exports reached US$4.94 billion in 2010, ranking sixth in the world in terms of export value and the fifth in Asia after China, India, Indonesia and the Philippines. The Vietnamese fisheries sector is seeing many good signs in the first quarter of 2011. According to recent figures released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the export value of agricultural, forest and aquatic products amounted to US$5.4 billion, of which US$1.1 billion came from fisheries. The aquatic export revenue reached US$400 million in March alone. Shipments to key markets continued to rise, especially the US market (up 39 percent), and Germany (32 percent). Exports to the Canadian market doubled from the same period last year.

 

The Japanese market, one of top importers of Vietnamese seafood, still sent good signs to Vietnam despite earthquake and tsunami aftermaths. Import contracts from Japan soared, not fell as expected. According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), although domestic prices of input materials increased, the industry did not raise prices applied to the Japanese market. This move was considered essential to support the government and people of Japan to live through this difficult time. According to statistics, Vietnam’s export turnover to the Japanese market always rose. In 2010, the value reached nearly US$900 million. Vietnam is supplying 21 percent of imported frozen shrimps for Japan.

 

According to economic experts, the quality, position and reputation of Vietnamese seafood are growing on world markets. With its advantageous natural conditions, geographical location and coastline, Vietnam has supplied a stable source of seafood to world markets in the past time. In 2011, the sector expects to sew a export growth of 7 percent to US$5.3 billion.

 

The first quarter results showed fresh good signs for the fisheries sector. According to experts, the industry is likely to encounter many challenges ahead. After three years of entering the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Vietnam will have to reduce a lot of tariffs and open the market. Vietnamese companies will have to compete directly with foreign rivals on the home market. Import barriers and trade remedies like food safety regulations and antidumping duty are also of major concerns. Besides, domestic seafood companies are struggling with the ‘price storm’ in the domestic market. Higher expenditures for salaries, catering costs and factory costs are soaring, leading them to apply higher prices. However, hardly any importers agree to change importing prices they reached earlier.

 

To deal with such difficulties, VASEP recommended seafood companies to expand potential markets like South Korea and China while maintaining traditional ones like the US, Japan and the EU. According to experts, South Korea is one of the fast-growing economies in the region and is forecast to import more seafood products in the coming time. China is also a potential market for Vietnam as it is shifting to high-grade seafood production, leaving more room for Vietnamese exporters.