VASEP told a 2016 review conference in HCMC on January 19 that its prediction was based on assessments by Vietnam’s major seafood importers. Outbound sales to the European Union (EU), Japan and the U.S. are expected to rise slightly.

 

Seafood exports to America will likely reach US$1.48 billion this year, a mild rise of 1% versus 2016. Last year’s growth rate stood at 11%.  

 

The association said Vietnam would face tough competition from other regional and South American exporters in the U.S. market. The U.S. will use technical barriers and impose anti-dumping tariffs on Vietnamese products, which will hurt Vietnam’s exports to this market.

 

Meanwhile, sales to the EU are projected to inch up 1% year-on-year to US$1.2 billion in 2017, while seafood exports to Japan could climb 2% to some US$1.1 billion, VASEP said.  

 

Notably, China will become a major buyer of Vietnam’s seafood this year with export revenue estimated at US$1.08 billion, a 30% pickup.

 

Last year saw Vietnam obtaining US$7.05 billion from seafood exports to 161 markets, up 7.4% against 2015.

 

Shrimp was the biggest export earner with US$3.13 billion, accounting for 44% of the total. Tra fish ranked second with US$1.67 billion, making up 24%, followed by tuna, squid and octopus.