Shrimp exports to Asia are increasing

Entering 2013, Vietnamese shrimp exports must face a series of new technical barriers after encountering many difficulties in key shrimp import markets last year.

Asia is becoming an attractive market for Vietnamese shrimp exports.

To maintain production and export, Vietnamese shrimp exporting enterprises have shifted to other markets, in which many Asian countries have become the top choice.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), in 2013, Vietnamese shrimp was involved in an anti-subsidy lawsuit in the US market, shrimp exports to the EU had not recovered due to the prolonged economic recession, and then Japan and South Korea applied Ethoxyquin residue testing levels, causing Vietnamese shrimp exports to fall into a difficult situation.

Faced with this situation, businesses have reoriented their markets, with China being a notable market due to the large demand for shrimp in this country and the geographical advantage that Vietnamese businesses have. Therefore, shrimp exports to this market have increased sharply since the first months of 2013.

In the first quarter of 2013, China surpassed the EU to become Vietnam's third largest shrimp import market, after the US and Japan, with monthly growth rates of 7.3-97%. By the end of May, Vietnam's shrimp exports to China (including Hong Kong) reached 108.5 million USD, up 17.9% over the same period last year and continued to hold the third position in Vietnam's shrimp imports.

Many market assessment reports show that China is not only the world's leading seafood exporter but also a potential seafood consumer market. It is forecasted that in the next 10 years, China's seafood import value could reach 20 billion USD.

According to Globefish's market report, Southeast Asian countries are increasing their demand for shrimp imports to meet domestic consumption and export processing needs. In 2012, shrimp imports from Singapore and Taiwan grew by 2.1% and 1.1% respectively.

In the first 5 months of 2013, ASEAN became an attractive market for Vietnam's shrimp exports with a growth rate of 15.5% compared to the same period last year, of which the Philippines increased by 88.5%, Malaysia increased by 16.8%, and Singapore increased by 3.7%.

In terms of value, Singapore is the largest market for importing Vietnamese shrimp with a value of 10.78 million USD in the first 5 months of the year, with a growth rate of 76% in May alone. According to statistics from the International Trade Center (ITC), in 2012, Vietnam was the leading supplier of frozen shrimp to Singapore with a market share of 31.7%.

In the coming time, Malaysia is also forecast to be an attractive market for Vietnamese shrimp exports because the country's shrimp supply in the first quarter of 2013 decreased by over 30%, from 90 thousand tons to only 60 tons due to the impact of the epidemic. To compensate for the large shortage of domestic raw materials, Malaysia must increase shrimp imports and this will be a good opportunity for Vietnamese shrimp enterprises.

According to (baocongthuong) - PH