Shrimp exports reach US$ 2.8 billion

Although decreased in August and September due to the Covid-19 epidemic, shrimp exports in the first nine months of this year increased slightly compared to the same period last year.

Vietnam's shrimp exports reached US$ 2.8 billion in the first nine months of 2021. Photo: TL.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), in the first nine months of this year, shrimp exports reached $2.8 billion, up 2.7% over the same period last year.

White shrimp continues to be an essential product in Vietnam's shrimp exports, reaching more than US$ 2.1 billion in 9 months. Next is black tiger shrimp with US$ 422 million and sea shrimp with US$ 208 million.

The US has been the largest market of Vietnam's shrimp exports in the past nine months, with a value of US$ 775 million. Besides the US, Japan (US$ 413 million), the EU (US$ 408 million), China (US$ 298 million), and South Korea (US$ 261 million) are in Vietnam's top 5 largest markets.

Since mid-September, the easing of social distancing has helped shrimp businesses gradually restore production and export after the epidemic. But enterprises still have many challenges about labor sources, cost production, ensuring epidemic prevention for safe production, etc.

Although the COVID-19 epidemic's complication, causing a positive adverse impact on many export industries, Vietnam's shrimp products still surpass many other export products.

Markets such as the US, Japan, Korea, and Europe have increased their imports of Vietnamese shrimp. Therefore, Vietnam's shrimp exports grew well in the first six months of this year.

However, from August this year, Vietnam's shrimp exports began to decline because production was affected by the Covid-19 infections rate's increase in the Mekong Delta. In September, shrimp exports to most main markets continued to decline, but the decline was lower.

Vietnam's shrimp exports are ranked first in most markets, with a turnover surpassing other countries. However, in the US - the world's largest shrimp import market (accounting for 30% of world shrimp imports and 22% of Vietnam's shrimp exports), Vietnamese shrimp only accounted for 8.5% of the market share after India, Indonesia, and Ecuador.

According to experts, Vietnam's shrimp exports have achieved good growth because of trading agreements' advantages such as the European Union - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA).