Vietnamese tuna products exported to 80 markets worldwide

HO CHI MINH CITY: The export of Vietnam’s aquatic products, including processed tuna, posted positive growth in the first quarter of 2024, bringing hope to its seafood industry, reported Vietnam News Agency (VNA).

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (Vasep), canned tuna exports in the said period surged 53 per cent year-on-year, bagging over US$196 million, a year-on-year increase of 21 per cent.

Vasep tuna market expert Nguyen Ha said this year, Vietnamese tuna exporters have expanded their market. In the first quarter, tuna products were shipped to more than 80 markets, compared to 70 in the same period last year.

Tuna exports to the United States and the European Union declined, but the remaining markets saw high growth, especially those in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) markets. Notably, the shipments to Canada and Chile rose 146 and 116 per cent, respectively.

Statistics from the International Trade Centre showed Vietnam is the third largest tuna supplier for Canada in 2023 after Thailand and Italy.

Last year, Canada’s tuna imports from major suppliers decreased substantially due to the fact that in recent years, Canadian consumers have reduced their consumption of aquatic products. They tend to switch to protein sources with lower prices.

However, it is expected that Vietnam’s tuna exports to Canada will recover because the North American country’s aquatic product consumption demand is forecast to increase in the next five years, according to the Vasep representative.

In Europe, Portugal is the sixth biggest importer of Vietnamese tuna among EU countries with its import turnover reaching more than US$220,000 in the first quarter of this year, twice as much as the same period last year. Although the figure is still modest, it signals a bright future for the export of Vietnamese tuna to this market. – Bernama/VNAnam, tuna, aquatic, product, export