Export target tough task for tuna industry

According to the Vietnam Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), the exports of tuna, the seafood product having the third largest export value after shrimp and tra fish, reduced in volume and value two years ago.

Last year, its export value had a year-on-year fall of 7% to US$526 million, and the value was initially expected to gain a year-on-year of 6.46% to US$560 million for this whole year.

However, that expectation is cut to US$450 million for this year because of numerous challenges faced by local tuna exporters.

In major export markets of Vietnamese tuna, including the US, Japan and ASEAN, exports of the local tuna have reduced since the end of last year.

In the first five months of this year, Vietnam exported tuna products to 86 markets in the world, 16 markets more than in the same period last year. But the total export value of tuna saw a year-on-year drop of 19% to US$203.8 million.

During the first five months, the tuna export value to the US and ASEAN countries fell 26.5% and 29.5%, respectively.

The tuna export value to Japan had a growth against the same period of last year but reduced 60% as compared with the value in the early part of this year. Meanwhile, the value to the EU had a year-on-year increase of 0.6%.

The reasons for the reduction in export value include lack of supply, trade barriers and competition with other tuna exporting countries.

VASEP said that the larger markets have asked the exporter to meet the requirements on origin of seafood including the new EU Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing law and a certification for seafood traceability in the US.

However, Vietnamese exporters are finding it hard to meet these requirements due to inadequate data on journals of seafood exploitation and preservation from fishermen.

The export markets have also tightened activities on managing food hygiene and safety, making it difficult for local tuna exporters to increase business in the large markets.

Vietnam has not had a sustainable development plan for the tuna industry so the supply and quality of tuna has not been stable. Equipment for fishing and preservation of tuna is also antiquated.

Additionally, competitive ability of Vietnamese tuna products has also reduced due to low domestic supply and high import tax for tuna that used to be processed for export. Now, Vietnam has imported 50% of its demand for tuna with import tax between 10 to 24%.