US$1 billion spent on unprocessed seafood imports last year
Vietnam spent over US$1 billion importing unprocessed seafood to turn out products for export last year, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
Quoting data of the General Department of Customs, VASEP said last year’s import of unprocessed seafood inched up by 0.5% in value compared to 2014 though the nation saw outbound seafood sales declining.
Shrimp import amounted to US$426 million, accounting for 40% of total seafood import value but dropping around 11% from 2014. Tuna import totaled US$215 million, making up 20% and rising by 15% while fish import stood at US$283 million, up 12%.
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According to VASEP, domestic firms mostly imported fresh and frozen seafood for export processing. They bought shrimp from 37 markets, with white-legged and tiger shrimp representing 65.9% and 20.3% of total shrimp imports respectively.
Explaining the huge spending on seafood imports, the director of a seafood exporting firm in the Mekong Delta said that as prices of seafood materials in Vietnam were higher than in other markets, local firms had to count on imports to raise competitiveness and maintain export growth.
Last year, India was Vietnam’s biggest supplier of shrimp, accounting for a hefty 74.7% of total shrimp imports.
In 2016, VASEP forecast local enterprises would have more opportunities to step up shrimp exports to key markets thanks to new free trade agreements. Therefore, total shrimp import is put at US$470 million this year, up 10% against 2015.
Last year, Vietnam fetched US$6.57 billion in seafood revenue, down 16.1% from 2014, due to falling export prices, weaker demand in importing countries and tougher competition.
