According to Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), in December 2023, Vietnam's tuna exports increased by 7% over the same period in 2022 with 73 million USD. In 2023, Vietnam's tuna industry hit 845 million USD, down 17% compared to 2022.
Among export markets, the US is still the largest consumer market of Vietnamese tuna with 326 million USD, down 33% compared to the previous year but there was a breakthrough in the last 3 months of 2023. After continuous growth in October and November, tuna exports to the US decreased slightly by 1% in December, to 25 million USD.
Israel is the second largest market for Vietnamese tuna with more than 50 million USD, an increase of 37% compared to 2022 with good growth in the first months of the year.
Besides, exports to Canada and Japan also decreased in December, with a decrease of 12% and 8% respectively.
Tuna exports to Europe continue to grow well with an increase of 25% in December. However, for the whole year 2023, exports to this market block will only increase slightly by 6% compared to 2022. In this market block , Italy is still a bright spot market with a "galloping" growth rate, up 361% compared to 2022.
VASEP said that after a period of many fluctuations, tuna exports to Russia have increased continuously after the last months of 2023. In December alone, tuna exports to Russia increased by 96% over the same period. . Cumulatively in 2023, exports to this market will reach nearly 29 million USD, an increase of 18% compared to the previous year.
Vietnam's tuna products are currently exported to 99 markets around the world and continued to expand in 2023, including the US, EU, CPTPP, Israel, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Philippines. Egypt is Vietnam's 9 largest tuna import markets.
According to businesses, 2024 is a year of many difficulties, especially European Commission (EC) maintaining a yellow card warning for Vietnam's exploited seafood products. In addition, the price of raw tuna on the world market has cooled down but tensions in the Red Sea have caused transport costs to increase, causing price of finished tuna to remain high.
Meanwhile, inflation in major countries has been contained, the world economy has bottomed out but has recovered slowly, so the demand for tuna imports in many countries has not shown signs of recovery. Competition in markets is increasingly fierce and inventory levels of processing and exporting enterprises are high. All of these factors will hinder recovery of Vietnam's tuna exports

Source: Vitic/ congthuong.vn