Exports of cuttlefish and octopus to ASEAN unstable

Vietnamese cuttlefish and octopus exports to ASEAN has stayed unstable recently. Even though recovery of export value was seen in August after slump in July, decline in sales was recorded in September.

According to statistic of  Vietnam Customs, Vietnamese cuttlefish and octopus exports to ASEAN reached 7 million USD in September, down 0.7% year-on-year. Due to growth in the first half of the year, total export value in nine months increased by 15%, acounting for 61 million USD. The slump was caused by decline in sales of Vietnamese cuttlefish and octopus to Thailand in September.

By August, Thailand bought a large amount of cuttlefish and octopus from Asian countries. According to Vietnam Customs, Thailand imported almost 15 thousand tons of cuttlefish and octopus, worth 68 million USD, up 44% in volume and 29% in value.

China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Mianmar and Japan are the main parters of Thailand. Vietnam ranks the second position in the top suppliers of cuttlefish and octopus to Thailand while China the first. After eight months of 2018, China exported more than 7 thousand tons of cuttlefish and octopus to Thailand, 1.44 times more than Vietnam. However, Vietnam’s export price of these two species has remained averagely high in eight months, helping the country rank the first seller to Thailand in terms of value.

Average import price of cuttlefish and octopus to Thailand ranged from 3.16 to 5.09 USD/kg. Meanwhile, Vietnam sold them at 5.92-10 USD/kg, China 2.71-4.22 USD/kg.