Positive signals in ten months
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| Processing seafood for export. (Illustrative photo: VNA) |
According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), the country’s seafood exports in October are estimated at 1.1 billion USD, a year-on-year rise of 28%. In the first ten months this year, the value was 8.27 billion USD and the prospect of strong demand growth in key markets has raised confidence of achieving the target of 10 billion USD.
However, the sector still needs to be cautious in the last months of the year, especially after going through a difficult year in 2023 when it did not fulfill the year’s plan .
The first half of 2024 also witnessed a slow start of seafood exports, as inflation in major countries has been contained and the world economy has bottomed out, but the recovery is still slow, affecting the demand for seafood consumption.
The situation of climate change and diseases in shrimp and pangasius also creates many difficulties for seafood export, while barriers to quality standards, traceability and food safety are becoming increasingly strict in many major markets. Therefore, at the beginning of this year, the sector only set a cautious target for the whole year, with an export turnover of 9.5 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 3%.
However, in the first month of the fourth quarter, seafood exports to China exploded with a growth rate of 37%, becoming the largest market, while the United States also achieved an increase of 31%, Japan increased by 22%, the EU soared by 27%, and the Republic of Korea rose by 13%. Among the 15 main seafood export markets, Russia gained the most rapid increase in export value with 94.8%.
According to experts, the increasing demand for seafood products, especially at the end of the year, helped Vietnam have a stable and larger number of orders, thereby the sector has many prospects to complete or even exceed the export target of 10 billion USD this year.
Striving to achieve targets in rest of 2024
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| Seafood export is confident of the target of 10 billion USD. (Photo: VASEP) |
Aiming to maintain the recovery momentum of the seafood sector, businesses need to take advantage of opportunities from free trade agreements that Vietnam has signed, such as CPTPP, EVFTA and RCEP. This helps seafood products access more easily and increase competitiveness in potential markets such as the EU, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and countries in ASEAN. In addition, the increasing demand from emerging markets such as India, South America and the Middle East is opening up many opportunities for Vietnamese seafood.
One of the major challenges for the sector is the increasingly stringent requirements on food quality and safety in international markets. Therefore, to maintain stable and sustainable development, businesses need to continue to invest in research and application of new technologies in aquaculture, processing and preservation of aquatic products to improve quality, meeting standards in import markets.
Removing the IUU Yellow Card continues to be a challenge for seafood exports, because if it is not removed in 2024, exports to the EU will stagnate because the procedures for confirming and certifying exploited aquatic products are still inadequate due to factors such as resources, human resources and infrastructure not meeting requirements.
In addition, competitive pressure on export prices and supply, along with difficulties in domestic production and processing such as increasing input costs and shortages of raw materials, have been affecting Vietnam’s seafood exports.
Vietnam's seafood export is facing many opportunities as well as challenges in the last two months of the year. With efforts to improve product quality, comply with international standards and maximize the benefits of free trade agreements, the sector can maintain high growth momentum and affirm its position in the world market./.