AsemconnectVietnam - In January of 2024, Vietnam’s seafood exports reached over 749.79 million USD, an increase of 64% in turnover compared to January of 2023.

Meanwhile, the country's seafood imports reached over 246.03 million USD, an increase of 30.5% in turnover compared to January of 2023.
Exports of seafood and main seafood export markets of Vietnam in January of 2024
According to the preliminary statistics figures of the General Department of Customs, in January of 2024, the country's seafood exports reached over 749.79 million USD, a slight increase of 0.6% in turnover compared to December of 2023; but increased sharply by 64% compared to January of 2023.
Japan was the leading seafood consumption market in Vietnam, accounting for 17.4% of the country's total seafood export turnover, reaching 130.27 million USD, an increase of 5.1% in turnover over the previous month and an increase of 42.9% compared to January of 2023.
The next was the US market, accounting for 14.8%, reaching 110.97 million USD, down by 2.1% in turnover compared to December of 2023 but increased sharply by 62.9% compared to January of 2023.
The Chinese market ranked third with 100.87 million USD, an increase of 10.7% in turnover compared to December of 2023 and also a sharp increase of 291% compared to January of 2023, accounting for 13.5% of total turnover of the country's seafood exports.
The exports of seafood to FTA RCEP markets reached 385.84 million USD, an increase of 4% compared to December of 2023 and also a sharp increase of 67.3% compared to January of 2023.
The exports to the Southeast Asian market reached 58.94 million USD, an increase of 18.2% compared to December of 2023 and an increase of 19% compared to January of 2023.
The exports to the EU market reached 69.45 million USD, down by 10.7% compared to December of 2023 but up by 32% compared to January of 2023.
Seafood imports and major seafood import markets of Vietnam in January of 2024
According to the preliminary statistics figures of the General Department of Customs, in January of 2024, Vietnam’s seafood imports reached over 246.03 million USD, an increase of 10.9% in turnover compared to December of 2023; and an increase of 30.5% compared to January of 2023.
Indonesia was the leading seafood supply market for Vietnam, accounting for 17% of the country's total seafood import turnover, reaching 41.81 million USD, an increase of 70.8% in turnover compared to December of 2023 and increased by 78.8% compared to January of 2023.
The next was the Chinese market, accounting for over 11.6% of the total turnover, reaching 28.54 million USD, an increase of 9.2% in turnover compared to December of 2023 and a sharp increase of 89.4% compared to January of 2023.
The Indian market ranked third with 28.03 million USD, up by 13.7% in turnover compared to December of 2023 but down by 2.3% compared to January of 2023, accounting for 11.4% of total seafood imports of the whole country.
Meanwhile, the i0mports from FTA RCEP markets reached 103.99 million USD, up by 26.2% compared to December of 2023 and up by 68% compared to January of 2023.
The imports from CPTTP markets reached 23.24 million USD, down by 7.8% compared to December of 2023 but up by 30.3% compared to January of 2023.
The imports from Southeast Asian markets reached 49.73 million USD, up by 57.9% compared to December of 2023 and up by 64.5% compared to January of 2023.
Some key seafood products achieved impressive growth in January of 2024
In January of 2024, a number of Vietnam's key seafood export products all had significant breakthroughs compared to the same period last year, specifically, shrimp exports increased by 71%, pangasius increased by 97%, tuna increased by 97%. increased by 57%, squid and octopus increased by 45%, other types of fish increased by 50%.
Regarding markets, the biggest breakthroughs were in China and Hong Kong (China) with an increase of more than 3 times and becoming Vietnam's second largest seafood import market, after Japan.
In particular, for shrimp and pangasius, China is currently the largest market, with the exports to this market increased by nearly 4 times compared to January of 2023. January this year was also the time when Chinese importers increase purchases for the Lunar New Year.
Vietnam's seafood exports in January of 2024 to the US market increased by 63%; to Japan increased by 43%; to EU increased by 34%.
However, looking at the general picture of the market and the seafood industry in 2024, most businesses see many challenges and difficulties that slow down the ability to recover production and exports.
Some shrimp businesses said that the number of orders at the beginning of the year have not shown signs of improvement because market purchasing power is still weak. There are still problems such as high inventory, low purchasing price, difficulty competing with Indian and Ecuadorian shrimp.
There are some businesses that see more positive signs about orders, but are worried about raw material sources because it is the off-season and epidemics, so the shrimp output is low.
Concerns about the risk of anti-subsidy tariffs are also a barrier for importers in the United States and Vietnamese export companies. The selling price of Vietnamese shrimp is still quite high compared to other countries, causing fear for importers.
For the pangasius industry, production and the market are showing slightly better signs. The number of orders in January and February began to improve, so the price of raw pangasius bottomed out, increasing from 25,000 - 26,000 VND/kg in 2023 to 28,000 - 29,000 VND/kg at the beginning of this year.
However, import customers are still cautious with the purchase price. Therefore, pangasius businesses also hope that this year's exports will increase slightly compared to 2023, possibly reaching an optimistic figure of 2 billion USD, an increase of more than 10% compared to 1.8 billion USD in 2023.
The seafood industry as well as fisheries in general are being affected by many unpredictable variables such as the conflict in Russia - Ukraine, Red Sea tensions, and skyrocketing shipping costs. In addition, the exports of exploited seafood such as tuna, squid, octopus and many marine fish species have almost stagnated due to the IUU yellow card issue along with difficulties in raw material shortages.
Market demand and export prices are expected to gradually increase. It is hoped that Vietnamese shrimp will not be subject to anti-subsidy taxes and the IUU yellow card will be removed. On that basis, businesses consider that exports can flourish in the second half of the year and the whole year's results will grow slightly compared to 2023, reaching about 9.5 billion USD.
CK
Source: VITIC/Vietnamplus.vn