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According to the statistics of Vietnam Customs, Vietnam’s exports of tuna to the EU in the first month of the year all increased compared to the same period last year, with a growth rate of 96%, reaching over $17 million and increasing significantly in all markets.
Notably, the export of fresh, frozen, and dried tuna HS03 (excluding frozen loins of tuna HS0304) increased by 317 times. The export of other processed tuna, mainly frozen steamed tuna loins, increased by more than 9 times. This shows that the preferential tariff treatment under the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is creating great attraction for Vietnam’s tuna products in the first month of the year.
In January 2024, Vietnam’s tuna was exported to 21 EU member countries. Among them, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands are still the top three importing markets of Vietnamese tuna. Currently, exports to all three markets mentioned above have grown well compared to the same period, especially Italy.
In the Italian market, the export of tuna to this market continues to maintain “astronomical” growth in the first month of 2024, with a 364% increase compared to January 2023. Italy is currently the largest importer of fresh and frozen tuna from Vietnam.
Along with Italy, the export of tuna to Poland is also growing rapidly. If in January 2023, Vietnam only exported very few orders to this market, in 2024 Poland is now the 4th largest tuna importing market in the bloc with a turnover of over $1.6 million. In addition to Poland, exports to Sweden, Belgium, and Cyprus are also growing exponentially, with increases of 11 times, 2 times, and 5 times, respectively.
Vietnam’s tuna industry has joined the billion-dollar club since reaching the $1 billion milestone in exports in 2022 for the first time in over 20 years. Currently, Vietnam’s tuna is present in over 140 countries and territories worldwide. In 2023, tuna exports reached $845 million, a 17% decrease compared to 2022.
In recent years, tuna has always accounted for the largest proportion in the total export value of seafood and is the third-largest category in Vietnam’s total seafood export value. From 2017 to 2022, the proportion of tuna export value in the total seafood export value increased from 7.1% in 2017 to 9.5% in 2022. The main tuna species exported by Vietnam include yellowfin tuna, bigeye tuna, and skipjack tuna.
According to VASEP, 2024 is a year with many difficulties, especially the European Commission (EC) maintaining the yellow card warning for Vietnam’s exploited seafood products. In addition, the price of raw tuna on the world market has cooled down, however, tensions in the Red Sea have caused high shipping costs, which will keep the price of finished tuna high.
