AsemconnectVietnam - According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), in June of 2024, Vietnam's seafood exports were estimated to reach 875 million USD, up by 14% over the same period last year.

This is also the month with the highest export turnover from the beginning of the year until now.
The cumulative first half of this year brought in over 4.4 billion USD, an increase of nearly 7% over the same period of 2023.
Vietnam’s main seafood export products in June and the first 6 months of 2024
The exports of most key products had high growth in June, of which, pangasius exports increased by 22%, tuna increased by 40%, and crab increased by 59%. The exports of shrimp products alone increased slightly by 7%, squid and octopus were the only products that decreased slightly compared to the same period last year.
In the first 6 months of this year, shrimp exports reached an export value of more than 1.6 billion USD, up by 7% over the same period last year. Of which, the exports of white leg shrimp reached nearly 1.2 billion USD, a slight increase of 3%, the exports of black tiger shrimp reached over 200 million USD, a decrease of 10%. The exports of lobster alone increased 57 times over the same period last year, reaching more than 130 million USD.
Pangasius exports in the first 6 months of this year reached 922 million USD, up by nearly 6% over the same period last year. Although demand has improved, the export prices to markets were still low, such as to China, EU, UK, etc. Only the US market has better signals in terms of both price and import volume.
Tuna exports in the first half of this year increased by nearly 25% to 477 million USD, mainly thanks to the strong increase in the canned and bagged fish segment. Meanwhile, squid and octopus exports decreased slightly by 1% to 289 million USD, of which the exports of squid products decreased, while octopus exports still increased.
In addition to tuna, there were many marine fish products that had strong demand and sales in the first half of this year. Of which, seabass had an export growth of 27% reaching over 36 million USD, yellow snapper increased by 14% to reach over 29 million USD, mackerel increased by 6%, pollock increased by 8% to reach 38 million USD, amberjack increased 96%. Some freshwater fish species with increased import demand include red tilapia increased by 32%, perch increased by 18%, eel increased by 93%.
Vietnam's leading seafood export markets in June and the first 6 months of 2024
Seafood exports to the Top 2 largest markets, the US and China - Hong Kong (China) both recorded high growth in June, specifically, seafood exports to the US increased by 14%, and to the Chinese market and Hong Kong (China) increased by 18%.
The US economy this year has positive signs. Inflation in the US has dropped rapidly from 9% to 3% this year. The US will soon move to cut interest rates this year to stimulate consumer demand, so there will be good opportunities for exporters. In the first half of the year, seafood exports to the US market reached 733 million USD, an increase of 9%. Meanwhile, the exports to China - Hong Kong (China) in the first half of the year increased by 7% to 766 million USD.
The exports to Japan in June only increased slightly by 2% over the same period last year. By the end of June of 2024, Vietnam’s seafood exports to Japan reached 705 million USD, a slight decrease of 1% compared to the first half of 2023.
The exports to the EU market alone had the highest growth rate (+40%) in June. Accumulated in the first half of 2024, seafood exports to the EU reached 513 million USD, an increase of 12% over the same period last year. The EU market is gradually stabilizing. Market prices and consumption are stabilizing, and seafood inflation continued to decline to 2.1% in May. Since March, inflation has fallen even more significantly for frozen seafood, with a negative inflation rate of 0.9% in May. It is forecast that EU seafood imports and demand will increase again after the summer vacation in Europe.
VASEP expects that this year the export situation will stabilize in accordance with the normal cycle, accelerating in the third and fourth quarters, accordingly, export turnover will be about 15% higher than the same period in 2023, reaching over 5.5 billion USD, bringing export results for the whole year 2024 to nearly 10 billion USD, an increase of 12% compared to 2023.
China increased imports and exports of lobster increased sharply
As for lobster products, China is currently the largest import market for this product from Vietnam, accounting for 98 - 99%. According to experts, China's massive purchase of Vietnamese lobster will cause the exports of this product to increase 57 times in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period last year.
CK
Source: VITIC/congthuong.vn