Vietnam is the largest shrimp exporter to the Korean market.

The latest statistics from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) show that in the first 9 months of 2014, Vietnam's shrimp exports to Korea increased by 50.2% compared to the same period in 2013.

Specifically, South Korea imported 19,646 tons of shrimp from Vietnam, worth 205.3 million USD, up 50.2% in volume and 87.2% in value. The market share of Vietnamese shrimp exported to South Korea also increased from 33% to 44%.

Processing shrimp for export. Photo courtesy

According to VASEP, the main reason for the sharp increase in Vietnam’s shrimp exports to Korea is the sudden decrease in shrimp imports from China. From the first position in 2013 with 14,610 tons to only 9,391 tons, a decrease of 35.7%. In addition, Thailand’s shrimp exports to Korea also dropped sharply by 39.1% to 2,786 tons. This is explained by the impact of early mortality syndrome (EMS, a disease) in China and Thailand.

Thus, up to now, Vietnam is the largest shrimp supplier to Korea. However, this is only the 5th largest shrimp import market of Vietnam after the US, Japan, EU and China, accounting for 7.9% of the total shrimp export value.

Shrimp exported to Korea is mainly whiteleg shrimp with a value double that of black tiger shrimp exports.

According toNLDO