Vietnam boosts tuna exports to UK
VOV.VN - Currently, the UK imports a lot of fresh and frozen tuna products from Vietnam, accounting for 99% of its export turnover, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
These products shipped to the UK rose 98% compared to the same period last year, said VASEP, adding the export of processed and canned tuna products experienced a considerable fall.
Vietnam is the 13th largest tuna product supplier to the UK, after Ecuador, Mauritius, and the Seychelles.
However, droughts due to the impact of the El Nino phenomenon this year have made it difficult to transport goods from South American countries, including Ecuador, to European countries through the Panama Canal.
The difficulty has forced suppliers to seek another transshipment route that fuels transportation costs. This is an opportunity for Asian countries, including Vietnam, to increase tuna exports to European countries, including the UK, said Nguyen Ha, a VASEP expert in the tuna market.
In addition, the UK on July 16 signed a document to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The accession is expected to boost trade between the UK and members of the CPTPP bloc, including Vietnam.
Along with the trade agreement between the UK and Vietnam (UKVFTA), incentives from the CPTPP will open up opportunities for Vietnamese seafood products, including tuna, to enter the UK market.
According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, after a sharp drop of 51% in May 2023, the export of Vietnamese tuna to the UK continued to increase in the following two months. This growth has raised Vietnam’s total tuna export turnover to the UK in the first seven months of 2023 to more than US$4.5 million, representing a year on year rise of 77%.
