(seafood.vasep.com.vn) After a decline in April 2023, Vietnam’s tuna exports to the EU increased again in May, up 15% over the same period in 2022. However, this increase can not compensate for losses in the previous months. Therefore, Vietnam’s tuna exports in the first 5 months of 2023 still decreased slightly by 4% compared to the same period last year.
Notably, while Vietnam’s tuna exports in the first 5 months of 2023 to the EU all decreased over the same period, canned tuna exports increased sharply by 71% over the same period last year. With this increase, canned tuna is Vietnam’s main export product to the EU in this period, accounting for more than 50% of the total export value.
Meanwhile, EU canned tuna imports are decreasing. The high price of skipjack tuna in the world pushed up the price of canned tuna imported into this market by 18% in the first 3 months of the year, reducing the purchasing power of EU importers. EU canned tuna imports during this period also decreased by 21% in volume. Imports of canned tuna from the EU from main sources have mostly decreased.
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Among EU countries, Germany and the Netherlands are the two largest import markets of Vietnamese tuna in the first 5 months of the year. Compared to the same period in 2022, Vietnam’s tuna exports to Germany and the Netherlands both increased by 23% and 26% respectively.
This year, the combination of inflation, high inventories, and rising prices of canned tuna has led EU importers to seek increased imports from countries offering preferential tariffs, such as Vietnam. However, the current global situation regarding skipjack tuna prices remains unsettled. Moreover, the preferential tariff quotas allocated to Vietnam’s canned tuna products under the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) are nearing exhaustion. Consequently, Vietnam’s exports of this item are anticipated to decline in the latter half of the year.