Vietnamese shrimp export to the US up 29% in H1

According to statistics, Vietnam exported US$323.3 million worth of shrimp to the US in the first half of this year, up 29% year-on-year.

The US was the only market where Vietnam experienced positive growth in shrimp export during the first half of the year, according to VOV.

Information from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) showed that the shrimp export to the US mainly serve retail channels and e-commerce, and suggested Vietnamese exporters focus on intensively processed products and those of added values.

During this period, despite the great impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam still earned US$2 billion from shrimp export. VASEP expected that this year’s revenue will expand 20% against the previous year.

While seafood exports in the first 6 months of 2020 to many major markets decreased, in the US and UK markets, there were positive signals. Seafood export to the UK reached USD 140.5 million, up 13.3% over the same period last year, to the US reached USD 654 million, up 0.5%.

In June, the export value of whiteleg shrimp reached 228.21 million USD, accounting for 31.73% of the total seafood export turnover, up 9% over the same period in 2019; tiger shrimp reached 50.27 million USD, accounting for 6.69%, down 8.35%.

Despite the negative impact of Covid-19, the shrimp export to the US still grew steadily in the first 6 months of the year. Thanks to low anti-dumping tax, Vietnam's shrimp exports to the US in 2020 are forecasted to increase by about 20% compared to 2019, informed Science and Life.

Vietnamese exporters to the US market should focus on deep-processed, value-added products such as EZ easy-peeled shrimp to match the consumer needs of this segment.

In the US, during the first half of the year, Vietnamese shrimp had a competitive advantage over rival sources thanks to faster stabilization of production after Covid-19 while countries such as India and Ecuador suffer heavily from the pandemic.

Shrimp processors and exporters of India and Ecuador are not only affected by reduced orders, but even domestic production is delayed due to the blockade order, and the lack of workers in factories.

The VASEP forecasts that in the third quarter of 2020, the growth of Vietnam's shrimp exports to the US will not be as high as in the second quarter of 2020, as India and Ecuador shift to increase exports to the US due to difficulty in China, reported by Industry and Trade News.