The representative of VASEP revealed that due to the impact of Covid-19, the export volume of Vietnamese aquatic products continued to decline in the first half of this year. By July, the export activities of aquatic products began to recover, and the export of shrimps increased steadily. By the end of November, the export value of aquatic products exceeded US$7.8 billion, equivalent to the level of the same period in 2019.

Export product structure

Shrimp is the main type in the export of Vietnamese aquatic products. Since June, exports have achieved double-digit growth, with 25% growth in September and October. In November, exports increased by 28% to 395 million US dollars. In the first 11 months of this year, shrimp exports reached US$3.5 billion, an increase of nearly 14% compared to the same period in 2019.

The export price of pangasius has been raised since October. As of the end of November, the cumulative export value of pangasius was approximately US$1.34 billion. It is expected that the annual export value of pangasius in 2020 will reach approximately US$1.54 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 23%.

After a sharp decline in seafood from March to May, since August, seafood exports have shown a positive increase. It is expected that seafood exports this year will reach nearly 3.2 billion U.S. dollars, which is close to the level of 2019.

Export market analysis

Major markets such as the United States, the European Union and China all showed positive growth, with growth rates of 25%, 30% and 15% respectively.

Major US shrimp import markets such as India and Ecuador are still severely affected by the COVID-19 epidemic. This year, at least 17 shrimp supplier cpuntries to the United States have reduced their exports, and the US demand for shrimp imports from Vietnam will not decline.

The EU market began to recover in September, with a year-on-year increase of 19-30%. In the first 11 months of this year, the export of aquatic products to the EU market reached US$900 million, a year-on-year decrease of 3.8%. This year, the export value of Vietnamese aquatic products to the EU (except the UK) is expected to reach US$992 million, a year-on-year decrease of 2.4%. The preferential tax rate policy in the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) that took effect in August has reduced the decline in exports of aquatic products due to Covid-19.

For the Chinese market, exports of aquatic products in November increased by 19% year-on-year. In the first 11 months of this year, exports reached US$1.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 3.4%. The annual export value is expected to reach US$1.48 billion, an increase of nearly 5%. Since mid-November, China has strengthened its management of imported aquatic products due to Covid-19 varus was frequent founded on the outer packaging of cold chain foods. The export growth rate of Vietnamese aquatic products to China will slow down.

In other markets, Vietnam’s exports of aquatic products to Japan have been declining since May. The total export volume in the first 11 months fell by 4.3% to approximately US$1.3 billion. It is estimated that exports to Japan for the whole year will reach 1.4 billion U.S. dollars, a decrease of 3.6%. Exports to South Korea are expected to reach US$770 million this year, down 1.6% year-on-year. For ASEAN, the annual export value is expected to be 569 million US dollars, down 18%.

The spread of Covid-19 in 2020 has created a huge obstacle to the export of Vietnamese aquatic products. With the spread of global epidemic prevention and control, Vietnam's total aquatic product exports can basically be the same as the same period last year. As one of the main markets in China, future market demand remains to be seen.