Shrimp processed for export at Sao Ta Food Joint Stock Company. Viet Nam’s shrimp export was forecast to reach US$3.7 billion this year. — Photo haiquanonline.com.vn

Viet Nam’s shrimp exports are forecast to reach US$3.7 billion this year, posting an year-on-year increase of 9.8 per cent, fuelled by the Eupean Union – Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) which facilitated export to the EU markets, according to Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

Accounting for 13.8 per cent of the country’s shrimp export value, the EU was the fourth largest shrimp export market of Viet Nam, coming after the US, Japan and China.

Despite declines at the start of this year, shrimp exports to the EU saw significant growth in the third quarter, thanks to the impact of the EVFTA which came into effect from the beginning of August, the association said.

In September alone, Viet Nam exported shrimp worth $57.6 million to the EU, representing a rise of 35.4 per cent against September last year.

January-September shrimp exports to the EU totalled more than $371 million, up by 2.3 per cent.

The association said that in the EU, restaurants and catering services were reopening together with the tourism industry, adding that the EU’s demand for shrimp was expected to increase significantly in the coming months to serve year-end holidays.

The EU was a market with good profit margins and this would be the market that many enterprises would focus on to expand exports in the remaining months of this year, the asociation said, adding that Viet Nam’s shrimp exports to the EU would continue to see considerable increases.

Viet Nam’s shrimp exports in September totalled nearly US$385 million, up by more than 25 per cent against the same month last year, the highest growth rate recorded since March, according to VASEP’s statistics.

Besides the EU, exports to other major markets also saw significant increases, such as to the US by 39.6 per cent, China by 22.9 per cent, the Republic of Korea 3.2 per cent, the UK 54.3 per cent, Canada 47 per cent and Australia 50.7 per cent.

Shrimp exports totalled $2.7 billion in January – September, a year-on-year increase of 10.5 per cent.

The US was the largest shrimp export market of Viet Nam, accounting for 24 per cent of the country’s shrimp export value. Viet Nam exported shrimp worth more than $634.4 million to the US in January – September, up by 33 per cent over the same period last year.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Import-Export Department, Viet Nam’s shrimp export would continue to increase in the last months of this year due to the low shrimp supply globally, especially from India.

The department added that Viet Nam’s shrimp export also had advantages from the EVFTA. — VNS