Vietnam's aquatic exports are expected to exceed the $10 billion mark for the whole year: what are the drivers behind it?

In the first half of 2024, Vietnam's aquatic products export market not only reached a new high in export volume, but also achieved substantial growth in export volume of all kinds of major aquatic products. What is the driving force behind this?

According to the latest statistics from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), Vietnam's exports of aquatic products reached US $875 million in June 2024, up 14% year-on-year and the highest since the beginning of the year.In the first six months, Vietnam's total exports of aquatic products exceeded US $4.4 billion, up nearly 7% year-on-year, indicating that the annual export value is expected to exceed the milestone of US $10 billion.

Among all kinds of export aquatic products, the performance of fish, tuna and crab is particularly prominent, the export volume of fish increased by 22%, the export value reached 922 million US dollars, an increase of nearly 6% year-on-year.Tuna exports performed even better, with a 40 per cent jump in volume to $477 million, up nearly 25 per cent year-on-year.In particular, the export value of tuna in the United States and the European Union increased by 30% and 37% respectively, which fully demonstrated the strong competitiveness of Vietnamese tuna in the international market.The export volume of crabs also increased by 59%, further enriching Vietnam's aquatic products export varieties.

Although the growth rate of shrimp products is relatively small, it still maintains a stable growth trend.In the first half of this year, shrimp exports exceeded US $1.6 billion, up more than 7% year-on-year.Among them, lobster exports surged 56 times year-on-year to more than $130 million, becoming a bright spot in shrimp exports.As the largest export market of Vietnamese shrimp, China exported shrimp to China in the first five months of this year to US $260 million, up 21% year-on-year, once again consolidating Vietnam's important position in the global shrimp market.

At the same time, the export of canned tuna has also shown a sustained growth trend.Vietnam's canned tuna exports have grown 51 per cent since 2021, from US $169 million to US $255 million in 2023.At present, Vietnamese canned tuna products have been sold to more than 65 markets around the world, among which the United States, the European Union and Israel are the three major import markets.In the first half of 2024, exports from these markets increased by 88%,35% and 141% year-on-year, respectively, further highlighting the popularity of canned Vietnamese tuna in the international market.

In terms of market distribution, Europe was the region where exports surged in June, up as much as 40%.In the first half of the year, Vietnam's aquatic products exports to EU countries reached US $513 million, up 12 percent year-on-year.Meanwhile, exports from the United States and China, Vietnam's two largest aquatic export markets, surged 14% and 18%, respectively, in June.Exports to the Japanese market remained stable at US$705 million despite a slight decline.

Aquatic products export enterprises are confident about the future market, and Vietnam's aquatic products export market is expected to be more stable and accelerate growth in the third and fourth quarters.Vietnam Manufacturers Association (VASEP) predicts that aquatic products exports are expected to grow by about 15% year-on-year in the second half of 2024 to more than US $5.5 billion.This means that the annual export of aquatic products is expected to reach or even exceed the ambitious target of US $10 billion.