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Processing shrimp for export at Sao Ta Food Joint Stock Company

Top market for shrimp

According to Ms. Ta Ha, market expert of VASEP, the US continues to be the leading export market for whiteleg shrimp of Vietnamese seafood enterprises. In the first four months of 2021, the total value of Vietnam's shrimp exports to the US market reached US$198 million, up 24.8% over the same period last year. In which, at the beginning of this year, enterprises increased the export of dried shrimp and processed shrimp to the US market.

Thus, in the first four months of this year, especially from March 2021, the value of shrimp exports to the US market grew strongly, with a rate of 47-48% over the same period in 2020.

As one of the two leading shrimp export markets of Vietnam, the US always attracts a large number of businesses to export to this market. In the first quarter of 2021, there were over 60 shrimp enterprises exporting to the US, of which, 10 large companies accounted for 75% of the total shrimp export turnover of the country.

Soc Trang Seafood Joint Stock Company (STAPIMEX) has the largest seafood export value. In addition, there are some other large enterprises such as Ut Xi, Thong Thuan, Minh Phu Hau Giang also with high export volume to the US.

By the end of April 2021, Vietnam exported many steamed and processed white shrimp products to the US, accounting for nearly 47% of the structure of shrimp exports with an average export price of US$10.11/kg. The second largest export product is tempura breaded shrimp, accounting for 16.5%, the average export price is US$10.56/kg. Frozen white shrimp accounted for 15%; the average export price was US$9.67/kg.

According to data from the US Bureau of Statistics, in the first three months of this year, this country imported over 80,000 tons of warm-water shrimp, worth US$643 million, with an average import price of about US$8/kg.

In which, India is the largest shrimp supplier to the US (accounting for 50% of import volume and 51% of value), Vietnam is the fourth largest shrimp supplier to the US with an import volume reaching 2,800 tons with an average price of US$9.88/kg, higher than other suppliers (except Thailand, which has an average price of US$11.69/kg because mainly processed shrimp are exported).

So far, US consumers still prefer processed and value-added shrimp products. In 2020, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, US shrimp imports still increased by 7% year-on-year.

According to experts, the US shrimp import trend will grow well and stably. By 2027, the shrimp import volume of this country may exceed 1 million tons.

The second half of the year will increase

In the past month, exports of key products to the US market all increased, in which pangasius increased the most (up 136%) to US$30.4 million, tuna increased by 56% to over US$31 million, squid exports, octopus increased by 83%. Experts expect that in the second half of this year, Vietnam's seafood exports to the US will maintain a high growth rate.

According to the analysis of VASEP, in the first four months of 2021 alone, pangasius export turnover to the US market reached US$102 million, up 37% over the same period and accounting for 21% of total pangasius exports. Meanwhile, the US accounted for nearly 42% of Vietnam's total tuna exports with US$94.5 million in the first four months of the year, up 15% over the same period last year.

Currently, the US is leading the import markets of Vietnam's pangasius, tuna and crab and is the second largest importer of marine fish.

According to Ms. Le Hang, Deputy Director of VASEP.PRO Center, seafood exports to the US market skyrocketed 64% in April 2021 to US$149 million, bringing the results of exports to the US in the first four months of 2021 to US$483 million, up 28% over the same period in 2020. It is estimated that seafood exports to the US in May 2021 will continue to increase and it is forecast that exports from June will increase more strongly after this market is fully opened.

In the first four months of this year, there were about 220 seafood export enterprises to the US, including 67 companies with export turnover of US$1 million or more. Top 3 enterprises account for a dominant proportion, including: Soc Trang Seafood Joint Stock Company (accounting for over 13% of turnover), Vinh Hoan Joint Stock Company, accounting for 8.6%, Bien Dong Seafood Company accounting for about 7.0%. The top 10 enterprises exporting to the US account for nearly 60% of the country's total seafood export value to the US market.

Currently, the deployment of vaccination for the American people is taking place rapidly; the production and business activities of this country's enterprises are recovering and stabilizing in 2021. Therefore, this is also a good opportunity for Vietnamese seafood exporters to the US this year when the markets of some countries, including India, are facing many difficulties due to Covid.