Vietnam

Vietnam sets new target for its seafood exports

Fish & Seafood

Several free trade agreements are expected to push the value of seafood exported this year over the ceiling of $10 billion.

Posted on Feb 17 ,06:06

The new Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) that started making its effect for Vietnam since last week and another free trade agreement with the EU, that is expected to be signed this year could boost Vietnamese seafood exports to $10.5 billion, according to a statement from the country's General Department of Fisheries.
Last year, Vietnam failed to reach the milestone of $10 billion in seafood exports due to a low value of shrimp in the global market.
The export value Vietnam gained from the EU – the biggest destination of Vietnamese shrimp – dropped 2.8% year-on-year to $838.3 million in 2018; while its exports to the US were worth $637.7 million, down 3.3%  from 2017, as the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said in a statement in January. Oversupply and low prices are expected to be present in the global seafood market this year too, but free trade agreements could represent a wild card for Vietnamese shrimp exporters. Also, the ongoing trade war between the US and China could boost the revenues for the Vietnamese seafood industry. "Trade war will continue to create opportunities for Vietnamese seafood products in their two major markets, the U.S. and China, in 2019. At the same time, two major free trade agreements, the CPTPP and EVFTA, will also help Vietnamese seafood because tariffs imposed on shrimp from Vietnam to Japan and EU will be reduced sharply", said Vietnamese securities firm BIDV Securities in an analytical note released recently.

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