By June, seafood exports to China could recover 100%
In the first two months of 2020, seafood exports to China decreased by 44%, exports to the EU decreased by 20%, and other markets also decreased simultaneously.
The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) has just announced that the Covid-19 pandemic has seriously affected many economic sectors, including seafood import and export.
According to Customs statistics, by the end of February 2020, the country's seafood exports reached over 991 million USD, down nearly 11% over the same period last year. Export turnover to the Chinese market decreased sharply by 44%; exports to the EU also decreased sharply by 20%, other markets such as ASEAN and Korea decreased by 4% and 9% respectively over the same period last year.
Items with sharp decreases are tra fish down 32.1%, tuna down 2.6%, other fish down 4.8%, squid and octopus down 26.4%...
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| While other seafood products have decreased sharply due to the Covid-19 pandemic, shrimp exports have maintained growth. Photo: GIA TUỆ |
According to the prediction of some tra fish businesses, by April, tra fish exports to China may recover by 50%, by May by 70%, and by June, they may fully recover by 100%.
Shrimp exports alone increased by 2.6% to 383 million USD thanks to the stable Japanese market.
VASEP forecasts that while key markets are fluctuating, if shrimp farmers and businesses overcome this period of resistance by maintaining farming at a certain level to hold out until June and July when the market recovers, the shrimp industry will still have raw materials for processing and export, making up for the decline in the first months of the year.
For pangasius, there is no concern about raw materials but it is necessary to approach the numbering of farming areas or provide more complete pangasius farming conditions to better prepare for 2021.