Aquatic product exports up 3% in Q1
Vietnam’s export turnover of aquatic products in March has been estimated at around US$640 million, bringing the total for the first quarter of the year to US$1.64 billion, up 3% year-on-year.
According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), the global shortage of containers began to improve in mid-March and China has loosened its pandemic control measures over imported goods, thus boosting Vietnam’s aquatic exports.
After increasing by 16% in January, shrimp exports were down 10% in February but bounced back to grow 10% in March. Total export turnover is estimated at US$646 million in the first quarter, up nearly 3% year-on-year.
Tra fish exports, meanwhile, enjoyed growth of 11% in March after falling 5.5% during January-February. Vietnam earned a total of US$336 million from exporting tra fish in the first quarter, a slight rise of 0.6% year-on-year.
Thanks to preferences in the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, the export of squid and octopus to the EU market is also recovering, pushing up export value by 8% in March.
Aquatic businesses said the COVID-19 pandemic remains serious in many traditional export markets, causing demand for several key Vietnamese aquatic products to fall but opening up more opportunities for dried and canned products.
VASEP predicts that aquatic exports will not recover strongly in April, with growth reaching only 10% to US$680 million.