Fishery export declines in May

Illustrative image (Source: VNA)

Vietnam’s fishery export hit 1 billion USD in May, up 27 percent year-on-year but down from the 1.1 billion USD recorded in the previous month, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) reported.

The drop was mainly due to a decline in shrimp export which increased only 19 percent to 416 million USD as compared with a 47 percent rise in April, the association explained.

In the first five months of this year, the total value was over 4.6 billion USD, a rise of 42 percent from the same period last year, of which shrimp export accounted for 39 percent.

Enterprises said the hike in shrimp export in the first four months was thanks to reserve materials and inventories from 2021. In addition, many firms won contracts with high prices late last year when the COVID-19 pandemic was ravaging and the global inflation affecting shrimp prices.

Since May, unfavourable weather conditions have exerted negative impacts on shrimp farming. Therefore, it is forecast that there will be a shortage of material for export in May and the coming months.

Vietnam’s shrimp export is also predicted to grow slowly in the second and third quarters as the demand from major markets will stand still after the surge.

Tra fish export in May also expanded 65 percent to 245 million USD. In the first five months, the value rose nearly 90 percent to more than 1.2 billion USD.

Although the export of other aquatic products like squid, octopus, crab and mollusc increased in May, it still remained lower than that in April.

Experts said the Russia-Ukraine conflict will continue to negatively impact economic sectors, including fishery./.