Vietnams tuna exports to US bounce back quickly

Vietnam’s tuna exports to the United States have enjoyed a sharp rebound following a period of enduring a constant decline, according the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

Vietnam’s tuna exports grew by 10.2 percent last year to over $719 million, with the largest buyers being the US, the EU and ASEAN. 

The association revealed that the country’s tuna exports to the US throughout August and September recorded increases of 5.2 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively, therefore bringing the total export value during the first nine months of the year to over US$208 million, representing an annual decline of 13.8 percent.

Throughout the reviewed period, fresh, frozen, and dried Vietnamese tuna exports to the US market fell by approximately 39 percent on-year, while processed and canned tuna exports enjoyed a sharp rise of roughly 29 percent.

This level of robust growth has served to boost the total value of local processed and canned tuna exports to the US market from 36.8 percent to a figure of 55 percent.

Vietnam’s tuna exports to the United States have enjoyed a sharp rebound following a period of enduring a constant decline. 

Furthermore, the average export price of frozen tuna and steamed tuna fillets to the US hovered between US$9.3 and US$7.1 per kilo, respectively.

With US businesses in the process of rebuilding warehouses, import demand for processed and canned tuna from the US is anticipated to increase in the near future, VOV said.

Demand for tuna is rising in the US, especially for canned products, leading to an increase in the country's imports in recent years.

Besides, after the US-China trade war began, importers in the country have been looking for alternative sources of supply, including Vietnam. Last year Vietnam remained the second largest tuna supplier to the US after Thailand, according to the Viet Nam News.

Tuna exports to EU surge thanks to trade deal

Vietnam's canned tuna exports could boom since the EU countries and the US are stocking up amid the COVID-19 epidemic uncertainty. 

Tuna has become one of Vietnam’s first export items to benefit from the country’s free trade deal with the EU, with shipments surging in August.

They rose 65 percent year-on-year to $6.3 million in the first half of August after the landmark EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) took effect at the beginning of the month.

VASEP attributed the rise to the trade deal. Most of the orders were for frozen, steamed and canned products, which have all seen tariffs scrapped or reduced, it said.

There is potential for further growth, it added.

The share of tuna in total exports to the bloc had dropped from 24 percent in 2018 to 19 percent last year.

Some technical customs issues in August had posed difficulties and increased costs for Vietnamese exporters, but they have been resolved and exports are set to grow even stronger in the remaining months of the year, VASEP said.

Vietnam’s tuna exports grew by 10.2 percent last year to over $719 million, with the largest buyers being the US, the EU and ASEAN,