According to statistics from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Export Producers (VASEP), Vietnam exported seafood worth US$1.3 billion in January and February 2024, a year-on-year increase of 23%.
Since the fourth quarter of 2022, Vietnam's seafood exports have fallen into recession and have begun to rebound this year. Exports increased significantly by 64% year-on-year in January and dropped 8% year-on-year in February (mainly due to the Spring Festival).
VASEP said: "After the Spring Festival, demand usually levels off, so exports to China will not be as strong. But Ramadan has begun, and demand for seafood in Western countries has recovered. As of the end of February, shrimp and tuna exports A year-on-year increase of 37%, pangasius increased by 15%, other seafood increased by 8%, and cephalopod exports decreased slightly by 1%."
VASEP said that Vietnamese shrimp product exports have shown positive signs in many markets such as the United States, Canada, China, Japan and Australia, and have achieved good returns in the Chinese market, partly due to the "sodium metabisulfite" problem in Ecuadorian shrimp. In the U.S. and European markets, Vietnamese shrimp still face competition from Ecuador.
Vietnam's pangasius market is also picking up. After hitting bottom in 2023, pangasius exports rebounded in January this year, but the price exported to China is still lower than in previous years. The main reason is related to China's inventory problems and oversupply.