According to new information released by Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), among Vietnam's tuna products exported to the EU in the first 5 months of 2024, canned tuna is the main product, accounting for nearly 49% of total export turnover.
Compared to 2023, Vietnam's exports of this product group increased by nearly 33%, reaching more than 43 million USD. Compared to the first 5 months of 2023, canned tuna exports to this market block are increasing.
VASEP said that Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Italy, Cyprus and Denmark are the 6 largest import markets. Of which, Poland and Denmark are the two countries that are strongly increasing their imports of canned tuna from Vietnam compared to the same period, by 300% and 246% respectively.
On contrary, the Netherlands has reduced its imports from Vietnam. A reason for this decrease is that after the high transportation costs, EU countries tend to reduce tuna imports through Dutch transit ports, increasing direct imports to reduce costs.
However, while EU is increasing its imports of canned tuna from Vietnam, it is reducing imports from most major sources. Concerns about inflation and rising prices are causing EU importers to reduce imports.
According to VASEP, Ecuador, Ivory Coast and Seychelles are three largest suppliers of canned tuna to the EU, accounting for 44% of the total EU tuna import volume. Of which, Ecuador is the only country with export growth to EU in the first months of 2024. Meanwhile, Vietnam is still a very small supplier for this market.
VASEP experts believe that IUU yellow card issue that the EU has given to Vietnam is a complex and long-term problem. However, if relevant agencies speed up process to solve problem for businesses in the current period, it will be an opportunity to increase exports to EU market.
Cumulatively, canned tuna export in the first 5 months of this year reached more than 386 million USD, an increase of 22% over the same period. Of which, canned tuna products increased by 44%, bagged tuna increased by 24%, frozen loin/fillet tuna increased by 7% and frozen whole tuna increased nearly 3 times compared to the same period in 2023.
VASEP said that tuna export to most markets increased compared to the same period in 2023. Accordingly, two largest markets, the US and the EU, accounted for 37% and 23%, respectively, of Vietnam's total tuna exports in the first 5 months of 2024.

Source: Vitic/ congthuong.vn