Generally, seafood export turnover of the whole country in the first 2 months of 2019 reached nearly 1.11 billion USD, 3.5% higher than the first 2 months of 2018.

There were 6 leading seafood export markets with a turnover of over 100 million USD in the first 2 months of the year, including the US, EU, Japan, China, South Korea, and Southeast Asia; in which, the exports of seafood to Japan reached 180.1 million USD, accounting for 16.2% of the total seafood export turnover of the whole country, increasing by 13% over the same period in 2018. The exports to the US reached 177.88 million USD, accounting for 16%, up by 8%. EU accounted for 14.5%, reaching 161.21 million USD, down by 11%. China accounted for 10.9%, reaching 121.24 million USD, up by 8.8%. South Korea accounted for 9.6%, reaching 106.66 million USD, up by 1%. Southeast Asia accounted for 9.1%, reaching 101.17 million USD, up by 9.2%.

In general, the country’s exports of seafood to almost all markets in February 2019 saw a drop in turnover compared to January 2019. However, in the first 2 months of this year, the number of markets with increased turnover accounted for the majority, in which exports to Ukraine increased sharply by 185.8% to 3.04 million USD; to Egypt increased by 110.5%, reaching 6.43 million USD; to Turkey increased by 70.7%, reaching 1.57 million USD.

In contrast, the seafood exports to Saudi Arabia fell sharply by 98.7%, reaching only 0.17 million USD. Exports also fell sharply in some other markets such as: to Indonesia fell by 87.9%, reaching 0.05 million USD; to Pakistan fell by 80.2%, reaching 1.65 million USD; to Czech decreased by 57.6%, reaching 0.46 million USD.

To forecast about the seafood exports in the coming time, the Department of Processing and Development of Agricultural Products said that Vietnamese catfish exporters will face a lot of competition with Myanmar in the Chinese market, due to Myanmar Fisheries Union (MFF) and Global Earth Public Ltd. are finalizing the project in Ayeyawady area, to produce export catfish. The project includes fish farms, feed mills, processing plants and cold storage. The project is developing 6 million breeding fish and is currently preparing 404 hectares to produce finished fish. All fish produced in the project aim to export.

For the shrimp industry, on January 14, 2019, the Comprehensive Partnership and Transpacific Progress Agreement (CPTPP) was officially in force for Vietnam. Thus, Vietnamese shrimp exported to Japan will benefit from this Agreement. Ready-to-cook shrimp products with high usability will grow well in the near future as Japan's ready-to-eat food industry grows as the number of single people increases, the housework rate falls.

In order to promote shrimp exports to Japan, businesses should innovate market access methods along with promoting their brands more strongly, ensuring product quality. It is forecasted that in 2019, Vietnam shrimp exports to Japan will achieve double-digit growth compared to 2018.