VN shrimp exports to US jump in Q1

This year, the total export value of shrimps is expected to reach $3.5 billion. — Photo fistenet

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Vietnamese shrimp exports to the US registered impressive growth in the first quarter of this year due to zero tax and competitive pricing.

In the first quarter of this year, export value of local shrimp products to the US doubled to US$293.4 million against the same period last year, the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said.

The increase was due to poor supply from Thailand, which is one of the leading shrimp suppliers to the US, said the association. The shrimp industry in Thailand has not yet recovered after disease struck shrimps in the recent past, thus helping Viet Nam take over as a large supplier of shrimps to the US market.

Additionally, shrimp traders in Viet Nam and the US have increased their trading volume of shrimp products to the US because the anti-dumping tax was zero for shrimps and prawns after the seventh period of review, it said.

According to the US Department of Agriculture, in the first two months of this year, shrimp imports surged 139 per cent in volume and 74 per cent in value from Viet Nam while it reduced 46 per cent in volume and 17 per cent in value from Thailand, reported the Bao Cong thuong (Trade & Industry) newspaper.

The association also said shrimp exports from Viet Nam to other key markets had also registered strong growth in the first three months of this year.

Therefore, the export value of shrimps saw a year-on-year increase of 87.9 per cent to $798.1 million, in the first quarter of this year.

VASEP said that last year total shrimp exports reached $3 billion and many farmers registered huge profits from growing shrimps for export.

This year, the rise in export of shrimps is expected to continue and the area of developing shrimps, especially the white-leg variety, would also increase, the association said.

This year, the total export value of shrimps is expected to reach $3.5 billion, it said. To achieve the target, the state, enterprises and farmers should plan for reasonable development of prawns and white-leg shrimps, control disease and improve quality of seeds and products for export. — VNS