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Fresh, live seafood has a lot of room in the Chinese market

VIET NAM
Monday, August 05, 2024, 01:00 (GMT + 9)

In the first 6 months of this year, seafood exports to China reached nearly 690 million USD, up 8.4%. Of which, tra fish (pangasius) still accounted for the largest proportion, accounting for 35% with more than 243 million USD, down 7.4% compared to the same period last year. Frozen products exported to China in the first half of this year almost decreased compared to the same period due to falling prices, while live seafood products have better potential.

In the first half of 2024, seafood exports reached nearly 4.4 billion USD, an increase of nearly 6% over the same period in 2023. Of which, shrimp exports alone accounted for more than 37% with 1.64 billion USD, pangasius accounted for 21% with over 918 million USD, tuna accounted for 10.7% with 471 million USD, squid and octopus accounted for 6.6% reaching 289 million USD, other types of fish accounted for nearly 20% reaching 865 million USD. Most of the main products had an increase in export turnover compared to the same period last year: shrimp and pangasius increased slightly by 6% and 5%, crab exports increased the most by 75%, tuna increased by 23%. Meanwhile, squid and octopus exports decreased slightly by 1% and other types of fish decreased by nearly 6%.

 The positive signs for the shrimp industry seem to be more focused on lobster, with sales soaring from $46.6 million in the first half of 2023 to $126.7 million in the first half of this year, up 171% . Of which, 98% of sales are from live rock lobster (blue lobster) products and the mainstay market is China.

Crab exports in the first half of this year had the strongest growth among the main products, increasing by 75% to 125 million USD . Of which, crab exports nearly doubled to nearly 93 million USD, crab exports increased by 33% to more than 31 million USD. Live crab exports alone brought in revenue of 54 million USD, nearly 8 times higher than the same period last year. China is also the main consumer market for Vietnam's live crab products.

In the general picture of exports to the Chinese market in the first half of the year, fresh and live products are the highlight, contributing to the increase in seafood export turnover to this market. Accordingly, in the first 6 months of this year, seafood exports to China reached nearly 690 million USD, an increase of 8.4% . Of which, pangasius still accounts for the largest proportion, accounting for 35% with more than 243 million USD, down 7.4% compared to the same period last year.

The second largest export item to the Chinese market in the first half of this year was lobster with nearly 122 million USD, up 174% and accounting for nearly 18% of the value of seafood exports to this market. Whiteleg shrimp exports to China also decreased by 10% to only 117 million USD. Tiger shrimp exports also decreased by nearly 30% to 38.5 million USD.

In addition to shrimp and pangasius, many other marine fish species exported to China also saw a decrease in export turnover in the first 6 months of this year. Meanwhile, among the top 4 products with the highest export value, live crab exports to China increased 12 times to reach 49 million USD.

Frozen products exported to China in the first half of this year almost decreased compared to the same period last year due to falling prices, while live seafood products have better potential. In addition to live lobsters and crabs, live clams (mainly silk clams, flower clams), and live snails increased sharply, up 280% and 282% respectively compared to the same period last year.

China’s frozen shrimp market is suffering from oversupply due to a glut of Ecuadorian products and high harvests at domestic farms. In the first half of this year, China imported 436 thousand tons of shrimp, of which Ecuadorian shrimp alone accounted for 330 thousand tons, or 75%.

Meanwhile, China’s demand for salmon and lobster is expected to continue to grow. As the world’s leading seafood consumer, Chinese consumers increasingly prefer high-quality, value-added seafood products. There has been a shift from buying fresh seafood at traditional wet markets to buying fresh seafood through e-commerce channels. Among them, shrimp is the most popular seafood item purchased online by Chinese consumers.

Although the situation has gradually improved: inflation and inventories have both decreased, the consequences still affect demand in import markets. Vietnam's seafood exports to major markets are under pressure to compete on price with other suppliers, so the average export price of major products such as shrimp and pangasius remains low compared to 2023 and previous years.

Therefore, total seafood exports in the first 6 months of the year are recovering, but only broke out strongly in January (+64.5%), exports increased modestly in the following months.. It is forecasted that in the second half of the year, Vietnam's seafood exports may return to normal as before the Covid-19 period. Exports will increase compared to the first half of the year, in which orders will increase in the third quarter to serve the year-end holidays in the markets.

Source: VASEP (translated from original in Vietnamese)

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