Shrimp exports to the US grow

Shrimp exports reached US$840.8 million in third quarter, up from US$573.9 million in first quarter and US$716.2 million in second quarter of the year but still far short when compared to the corresponding period of 2014.

From July to September, overseas shrimp consignments registered in at US$2.1 billion said VASEP in its report, down 27.4% from the corresponding nine-month period in 2014.

VASEP said in the major import markets of the EU, Republic of Korea (RoK) and Japan, an economic downturn and sharp devaluation of their respective currencies caused weaker demand, which manifest in lower imports.

Meanwhile, the significant depreciation of the currencies of India, Indonesia, Ecuador and China along with a surge in shrimp supply from Southeast Asia created a glut in the market driving sales prices lower during the third quarter.

In the first nine months of 2015, white legged shrimp, the main species exported, decreased 27.5% year-on-year to US$1.2 billion. All told white leg accounted for 58.2% of the nation’s total shrimp exports.

Black tiger shrimp exports dropped by 31.7% to US$711.4 million, occupying 33.4% of Vietnam's total shrimp exports.

Frozen raw black tiger shrimp and white legged shrimp made up the largest proportion of the nation’s total shrimp exports. Processed marine shrimp exports were inconsequential.

Through September 2015, the proportion of white legged shrimp was equal to the same period of 2014; the proportion of black tiger shrimp was down 2.1%, while that of marine shrimp inched up 2.1%.

From January to September, inclusive, shrimp exporters made a concerted effort to expand their markets resulting in a jump to 92 markets, up six from September 30 of 2014.

The top 10 markets- the US, Japan, EU, China, Republic of Korea (RoK), Canada, Australia, Taiwan, ASEAN and Switzerland- accounted for 95% of total shrimp exports.

VASEP said a drastic decline was experienced in shrimp exports to main markets such as the US, Japan and EU for the nine month period.

On the flip side, some single markets witnessed a year-on-year rise. Exports to Malaysia surged 40.4%, exports to the U.K climbed 16%, while those to Hong Kong and Singapore picked up 2.6% and 0.7%, respectively.

VASEP said it is remarkable that demand for warm water shrimp from the UK, the largest market of Vietnam shrimp in EU inexplicably surged dramatically.

Shrimp sales to the US in September 2015 touched US$77.6 million, up nearly 29% compared to August 2015 and up 3.5% year-on-year.

Total sales in the third quarter of 2015 reached US$188.8 million, up 62.3% from the first quarter of they year and up 29% from the second quarter but down 35.6% when compared to the corresponding period last year.

Shrimp exports to the US in September 2015 reported the highest growth compared to all other months so far in the year as US importers increased their inventories in anticipation of the upcoming year-end holidays.

VASEP said the final results of the ninth anti-dumping duty administrative reviews on frozen shrimp imported from Vietnam resulting in lower import duties might also help boost shrimp sales to the market in the remaining months of the year.

In the first 9 months of 2015, shrimp sales to the US reached US$451.5 million, down 45% year-on-year. Sharp appreciation of US dollar against other currencies encouraged global shrimp exporters to stimulate exports to the US, which putting high downward pressure on the prices of shrimp in Vietnam. 

Shrimp exports to the EU in September 2015 reached US$55.9 million, up 13.3% from August 2015. However, overall exports for the third quarter dropped 24.7% year-on-year to US$157 million.

The cumulative figure through September 2015 struck US$403.3 million, down 18.7% year-on-year.

According to VASEP, demand from main markets reduced while global shrimp prices for the year to date fell 30%.

Vietnam shrimp’s competitiveness and its sales for the January-September period was significantly affected by fluctuations in exchange rate of US dollar against the dong and other currencies.

For the fourth quarter of the year, Vietnam shrimp exports are expected to come in at a bearish US$800 million— dropping down by as much as 25% compared to the corresponding period a year ago.

VASEP is currently guiding for US$2.9 billion in gross export sales this year, over US$1 billion lower than 2014 and a full US$300 million lower than the full-year estimate it made last July.