Ilustrative image (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The value of aquatic exports in July fell below 1 billion USD for the first time since the beginning of 2022, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
It was expected to fetch 970 million USD, up 14% year-on-year and 4% month-on-month.
The country’s total aquatic export turnover in the first seven months of this year reached nearly 6.7 billion USD, an increase of 35% compared with the same period last year.
After recording a sharp rise of 34-62% in the first five months of the year, aquatic exports began cooling down in June with an increase of just 18%.
The decline is mainly due to unfavorable weather, with early rains affecting seafood production. The stockpile of aquatic products from last year has also dropped.
Particularly, shrimp exports in June decreased by 1% compared to the same period last year because of a shortage of raw materials. It continued to fall by nearly 13% in July, reaching only 385 million USD. Vietnam earned 2.65 billion USD from shrimp exports in the first seven months, up 22% over year-on-year.
The value of pangasius exports also declined in the second quarter of this year.
Export earnings from pangasius reached 197 million USD in July, up 56% year-on-year. By the end of July, its value hit over 1.6 billion USD, an increase of 79% over the same period last year.
Meanwhile, exports of tuna, squid, octopus and other marine fish maintained a high growth rate of 37-44% in July. In the first seven months of 2022, tuna exports increased by 53% to reach 641 million billion, USD while those of squid, octopus and other fish surged by 31% and 16%, respectively, earning 417 million USD and over 1.1 billion USD.
Vietnam’s aquatic exports to the US declined by 8% in June and 23% in July. Meanwhile, the export of seafood products to the European Union still grew by 28% in July with the value hitting 829 million USD in the first seven months. Export earnings from seafood to China reached 1 billion USD in the period, up 71% year-on-year.
VASEP forecasts that seafood exports in the third quarter of this year will grow slower than in the second and first quarters, particularly export value expected to hit about 3 billion USD./.
