Workers of Minh Phu Hau Giang Seafood JSC, a member of Minh Phu Seafood Corporation, at Hau Giang Industrial Zone in the southern province of Hau Giang prepare goods for export. VNA/VNS Photo Vu Sinh
The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) has forecast that seafood exports will hit $8.8 billion this year, a year-on-year increase of five per cent.
The association said the Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted global trade in seafood, changing consumption trends for aquatic products.
However, the main importers of Vietnamese seafood such as the EU, China, South Korea, and Japan only slightly decreased their imports from Vietnam by three-to-six per cent, while the largest market, the US, still increased significantly at 10 per cent.
Other markets like Russia, the UK, Australia and Canada even hiked by 10-32 per cent.
Vietnamese seafood exports fell sharply by 10 per cent and seven per cent in the first quarter and second quarter of last year respectively, but from the third quarter began to recover.
The country’s seafood output was estimated at 8.4 million tonnes by the end of last year, a slight increase of three per cent compared to 2019.
Seafood exports hit $8.4 billion, down 1.9 per cent year-on-year.
Entering the new year, VASEP believed the fisheries trade situation was still strongly affected by the pandemic, even though this was still the main factor that dominated seafood exports and imports in Vietnam.
However, Vietnam was still able to maintain a competitive advantage in raw material supply compared to other countries. In addition, free trade agreements would continue to be a lever for its seafood exports to recover in some markets, said VASEP.
Enterprises would also have more experience and flexibility to adapt to fluctuations and changes in the needs and tastes of the market after a year of the pandemic, it added.
On the stock market, seafood exporting enterprises had a tough year due to the pandemic.
Cuu Long Fish JSC was one such impacted seafood enterprise, with revenue and profit last year decreasing by 49 per cent and 80 per cent respectively compared to 2019.
Similarly, other businesses in the same industry as Vinh Hoan JSC’s profit fell from 1.18 trillion dong ($51.3 million) in 2019 to 704 billion dong last year.
Ngo Quyen Processing Export JSC faced accumulated losses of up to 31 billion dong due to interrupted transactions with customers and no export orders.
VIET NAM NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
