Tuna exports face difficulties due to lack of raw materials

Many tuna exporting enterprises are facing difficulties due to lack of raw materials for export processing, as tuna catches from fishing grounds across the country have decreased sharply since the beginning of the year.

Specifically, the director of a tuna export company in Binh Dinh province said that the company is currently operating at only about 50% of its processing capacity due to a lack of raw materials. Although he did not disclose specific figures on the company's tuna export output in the first 7 months of 2013, the director said that the company's export output had decreased by more than 30% compared to the same period last year.

Some other tuna exporting enterprises in Phu Yen province also said that their export turnover decreased due to unstable raw material supply and the quality of raw materials not meeting export standards. In addition, another reason affecting Vietnam's tuna export output is the high world inventory after a sharp increase in imports in 2012; in the context of a sharp decrease in consumption demand in some major markets such as Japan, the US and Europe.

Explaining the decline in tuna catches, businesses said that the sharp increase in fuel prices in recent times has significantly affected the fishing boat owners’ ability to go to sea. In the context of stagnant exports, the sharp drop in the selling price of ocean tuna has caused many boat owners to lose capital, leading to bankruptcy.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, from reports from localities such as Binh Dinh and Phu Yen, tuna catch has decreased. Specifically, in Binh Dinh, ocean tuna output in the first 7 months of the year reached 5,481 tons, equal to 97.2% over the same period; Phu Yen tuna output reached 4,115 tons, equal to 68.6% over the same period. Many fishing boats of Phu Yen fishermen are on shore, not yet organizing further fishing activities. As of early July, the whole province only had 117/973 boats over 90CV participating in offshore fishing.

The latest updated figures released by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) also show that Vietnam's tuna export turnover only increased slightly in the first 6 months of the year due to a sharp decrease in the export volume of this item in some major markets. Specifically, according to VASEP, in the first 6 months of 2013, Vietnam's tuna export turnover reached 293.7 million USD, up only 2.7% over the same period last year. The US continues to be the largest import market for Vietnamese tuna, accounting for 37% of the market share, reaching 108.6 million USD, but down 15.5% over the same period last year.

If in the first 6 months of 2012, Japan was the second largest importer of Vietnamese tuna, in the first half of 2013, Japan dropped to third place when tuna imports from Vietnam during this period only reached 31.6 million USD, down 18.4% compared to the same period last year.

According to baocongthuong - PH