The export value of aquatic products is estimated at 862 million USD in September, equal to that in the same period last year, and 16 million USD higher than that of August, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

In the January-September period, the revenue reached 6.6 billion USD, down 22% year-on-year.

VASEP’s Communications Director Le Hang said that in September, some key exports like shrimp and tuna have seen good recovery to the levels of the same month last year. Notably, tra fish exports recorded a year-on-year growth rate of 9%.

Hang said that in the first nine months of this year, shrimp exports fetched 2.55 billion USD, 25% lower than that of the same period of 2022.

However, in recent months, exports to the two key markets of the US and China have increased, and some main markets in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) such as Japan, Australia, and Canada are also increasing shrimp imports from Vietnam.

Similarly, tra fish exports are seeing recovery in such markets as China, Mexico, Brazil, the Netherlands, the UK and the US.

In the first three quarters, the value of exports to the three biggest importers of Vietnamese aquatic products, namely the US, China and Japan, all exceeded the 1 billion USD mark, of which the US was at the top with nearly 1.2 billion USD, followed by China with 1.15 billion USD, and Japan nearly 1.1 billion USD, down 33%, 15% and 14% year-on-year, respectively.

Ho Quoc Luc, former Chairman of VASEP, Chairman of Sao Ta Food Joint Stock Company, said that exports in the last months of the year will be difficult to make a breakthrough even though the decline has gradually narrowed over the months. He forecast that shrimp exports in 2023 would reach only about 85-90% of that last year.

VASEP expected that the country’s aquatic export revenue would be around 9.2 – 9.3 billion USD this year if there are no unexpected fluctuations in the market and the raw material source does not decline sharply.

VNA