Bad US weather hurts VN seafood exporters

Data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development showed that the country's seafood exports during the first two months of the year touched US$907 million, down 9.4% over the same period last year.

Exports to the United States, the largest importer during January, dropped sharply by 37% to around US$90 million, compared with the same period last year.

Truong Dinh Hoe, general secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), told online newspaper ndh.vn that the slump was due to seafood demand in the United Stated having been adjusted in view of increased buying at the end of last year.

In addition, seafood inventory in the United States last year was deemed relatively high, resulting in imports being halved after reviewing consumption trends this year.

Another reason was the record cold weather, preventing Americans from stepping out and shopping.

The latest report from the US Department of Commerce released on March 12 showed that its retail revenue in February also slipped 0.6%, marking the third consecutive month seeing a slump.

Domestic seafood exports to the European Union and Japan, the biggest import market following the United States, were also reduced because of the depreciation of the euro against the US dollar.

The currency has fallen by more than 12% against the US dollar over the last two months to its lowest level in 12 years. This has forced importers to spend more euros to buy US dollar and resulted in Vietnamese exports becoming more expensive, despite selling prices remaining unchanged in dollar terms.

Hoe said nearly 90% of Vietnamese seafood export transactions were calculated in US dollar. This was the reason that any change in foreign exchange would also impact exporters.

The depreciation in the yen was also creating difficulties for Vietnam's seafood exports.

Exports to the market during January were 10% lower at US$75 million, than a year ago.

VASEP's Hoe said it was hard to forecast the prospects of seafood exports. Even though the United States sharply cut anti-dumping tariffs imposed on Vietnamese shrimp from 6.37% to 0.93%, this would not boost purchases immediately as the new tariffs would only take effect in July.

However, the decision had raised the expectations of exporters for future business. Earlier, VASEP had set a seafood export target of US$8 billion for 2015.