The exports of Vietnam’s aquatic product posted positive growth in the first quarter of this year, bringing hope for the entire seafood industry, including processed tuna products.

With a thriving seafood processing industry and many high-quality processing plants, Vietnam has been chosen by Japanese enterprises for partnership in processing products for export to various markets such as the US and ASEAN countries.

But positive signals have been seen in the early months of 2024, with a 64 per cent increase in demand compared to the same period in 2023, reaching $750 million.

Vietnam's seafood exports to Canada last year decreased by 38.5% compared to 2022 with the country being the seventh largest seafood supplier to this market, according to the Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Seaweed is an industry that continues to capture greater attention as the global trade market size is expected to expand at around 10.8% per year.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has lowered its target for seafood export value for 2024 to US$9.5 billion from its previous expectation of $10 billion due to many challenges.

Shrimp and pangasius farmers in the Mekong Delta are grappling with the imminent threat of substantial losses.

A local enterprise in the Mekong Delta province of Ca Mau has successfully exported a shipment of processed, frozen crabs and sweet snails to the United States after two years of preparations.

Vinh Hoan Seafood owned by ‘Seafood Queen’ Truong Thi Le Khanh has unexpectedly reported sharp profit decreases, while Minh Phu has reported losses though it had predicted exports to the US would increase.

With recent rosy signs, Vietnam’s aquatic product exports are expected to hit 10 billion USD this year, experts have said.

The United States is Vietnam’s largest seafood export market in in the first eight months of the year, with turnover reaching US$1.01 billion, an annual decline of 37%, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

VN's seafood exports could suffer over half a billion dollars loss in the event the European Union issues a 2-3 year red card as a measure against the Southeast Asian country's fishing practices, according to industry insiders and policymakers.

If the IUU (Illegal, unreported, and unregulated) red card is shown by the EC, Vietnam will be prohibited from exporting seafood to the EU. Vietnam would lose revenue of $500 million a year, experts say.

Vietnam will likely see a decline in seafood exports for this year although market prospects are better than last year's end, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

The shortages of materials for seafood export processing are forecast to last until the end of the year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Farmers, who want shrimp to grow rapidly to have early harvesting, are trying to increase density and yield. But this is doing more harm than good.

Two leading enterprises in the seafood sector, known as ‘Shrimp King’ and ‘Catfish Queen’, have had to lower their business targets in 2023 amid a sharp fall in world demand.

The first 4 months of 2023 saw Vietnam’s tuna exports to Mexico hit nearly US$7.4 million, up 44% over the same period from last year 2022, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers VASEP

Exporters of fishery products could hardly achieve the target of US$10 billion in revenue this year, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).