Sea fish will grow strongly if the import of raw materials is favorable

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), in the first quarter of this year, among key seafood groups , the export growth of other marine fish (except tuna), was relatively modest. with only a slight increase of 5%. Meanwhile, most of the other key seafoods grew very strongly such as tuna by 72%; crabs, crabs and other crustaceans increased by 62%; Squid, octopus increased 35%...

However, other marine fish still held the No. 1 position in terms of export value of seafood products when reaching $421 million, accounting for 45.76% of the total seafood export value in the first quarter of over $920 million.

Not only in the first quarter of this year but also in previous years, other marine fish always accounted for the largest proportion of seafood exports. In 2021, the export of other marine fish accounts for about 50% of the total seafood export value of $3.4 billion.

That is, the export value of other marine fish in the past year reached about 1.7 billion USD, higher than pangasius. This shows the importance of other marine fish in the structure of export seafood in particular and Vietnam's export seafood in general and the demand in the world market for this commodity group is quite large.

However, due to the limitation of raw materials, the export of other marine fish is still on a growing trend, but the increase is usually not high. Among other marine fish, there are currently only a few types of fish that domestic production and exploitation basically meet the export demand such as herring, anchovies, etc.

In terms of herring, currently, each year, Vietnamese seafood enterprises bring in export value of tens of millions of USD. Information from VASEP shows that in 2021, the export value of herring will reach 37.5 million USD. There are 30 markets importing herring from Vietnam. In which, the US, Thailand, Japan, Korea and Australia markets account for a dominant proportion with nearly 76% of export value.

After falling last year, herring exports earlier this year are increasing slightly again (up 2.5% in the first 2 months of the year), of which exports to the US increased by 30%, to South Korea increased by 67%, to Australia increased by 86% ... The reason is that the source of raw herring is currently quite abundant and the demand is high in the world market. Therefore, herring still has many export prospects in the coming months.

For other marine fish, demand is still growing in key export markets. The evidence is trending that many marine fish processing orders are transferred from Chinese factories to Vietnam.

The import of seafood to Vietnam (which is mainly raw seafood for export processing), in the past few months has shown quite clearly the demand for processing and exporting fish of other types in particular and seafood in particular. shared. According to the General Department of Customs, in March 2022, seafood imports increased sharply by 34.6% compared to February 2022. For the whole first quarter, seafood imports reached US$545 million, up 9.2% compared to the first quarter of last year.

Among the 10 largest seafood supply markets for Vietnam in the first quarter of this year, there are major export markets for marine fish such as Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, Korea, Russia, Chile... This shows the import demand. Export of marine fish for export processing is quite large.

Therefore, in order to promote the export of other types of fish in particular and seafood in general, Mr. Truong Dinh Hoe, General Secretary of VASEP said that it is necessary to create more favorable conditions for the import of raw seafood. for export processing, consider importing raw seafood as an important factor to promote seafood export. If the import of raw seafood is done well, each year, the export value of seafood in general can increase by several billion USD compared to the present.

Source: Thanh Son - Minh Sang - nongnghiepviet.vn