Tuna exports to the EU expected in the new year

Processing tuna for exporting. Photo: T.H

As a key export item, however, seafood exports have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. After falling in the first half of the year due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Vietnam's seafood exports began to recover from July. The Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) which took effect from August 2020 has helped seafood reach double-digit growth since September.

Truong Dinh Hoe, General Secretary of Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said the EU market had strongly recovered from September with an increase of 19-30%. It was estimated seafood exports to the EU (excluding the UK) in 2020 would reach about $992 million. Although this figure decreased slightly compared to 2019, it was a relatively positive result for the economy and export activities. The EVFTA was one of the free trade agreements that was effectively utilised by businesses in 2020.

According to VASEP's analysis, the EVFTA continues to be a lever for tuna exports to the EU market. The value of Vietnam's tuna exports to this market sector has grown in the last three months of the year, up 20% from the same period in 2019. As a result, the total value of exports to the EU in 2020 hit $136 million, up 2.4% compared to 2019.

The Covid-19 pandemic in EU countries has not been controlled yet, so the demand for canned processed tuna in these markets remains high. In addition, thanks to the preferential tariff treatment from the free trade agreement between the EU and Vietnam, the export of canned tuna with the code of HS16 and frozen tuna meat/fillet with code of HS0304 increased. Notably, the export of canned tuna HS16 code in 2020 increased 15% compared to the previous year.

Currently, Vietnamese products cannot compete with similar products from China, the EU or Mauritius.

In the EU, Italy, Germany and Spain are the three largest tuna import markets. For 2020, Vietnam's tuna exports to Italy and Germany increased compared to 2019, while exports to Spain decreased.

In the Italian market, Vietnam's tuna exports had spectacular growth in 2020. Italy is currently the largest importer of fresh and frozen tuna from Vietnam in the EU. The export value of fresh and frozen tuna from Vietnam to Italy jumped by 9% compared to 2019.

In the German market, Vietnam is the fifth largest supplier to the German market, accounting for about 5% of the country's total canned tuna imports.

Paying more import tax makes it difficult for tuna products from countries that are not entitled to preferential tariffs to compete. Therefore, when the EVFTA came into effect, it promoted tuna exports of Vietnam to EU markets, especially amid the European economic crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic.