Canned tuna exports to the EU up nearly 33%

Canned tuna exports to the EU reached more than 43 million USD. (Photo: congthuong.vn)

Compared to 2023, exports of this product group increased by nearly 33%, worth more than 43 million USD. Compared to the first five months of 2023, canned tuna exports to this market bloc are on the rise.

VASEP said that Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Italy, Cyprus and Denmark are the six largest import markets of Vietnamese tuna. In particular, Poland and Denmark are increasing imports of Vietnamese canned tuna over the same period, by 300% and 246% respectively.

On the contrary, the Netherlands reduced imports from Vietnam. This decrease resulted from transportation cost rise, EU countries tended to reduce tuna imports through Dutch transshipment ports and increased direct imports to reduce costs.

However, while the EU is increasing 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 the three largest canned tuna suppliers to the EU, accounting for 44% of the bloc’s total tuna import volume. Among them, Ecuador is the only country with export growth to the EU in the first months of 2024. Meanwhile, Vietnam is still a very small supply source for this market.

The association said that tuna exports to most markets witnessed increase compared to the same period in 2023. Accordingly, the two largest markets are the US and the EU, accounting for 37% and 23%, respectively, of Vietnam’s total tuna exports in the five months./.