Seafood exports to the United States have rebounded significantly

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, Vietnam’s seafood exports to the United States will reach US$1.45 billion by the end of September 2021, a 24 percent increase over the same period last year.

In the first eight months of this year, the United States imported more than 2 million tons of seafood valued at more than 18 billion USD, representing a 14 percent increase in volume and a 30 percent increase in value over the same time last year. Shrimp imports were 540 thousand tons, worth US$4.9 billion, a 24 percent increase in volume and a 26 percent increase in value over the same time the previous year.

Shrimp, pangasius, and tuna are the three primary product lines sent by Vietnam to the United States, accounting for 53 percent, 17 percent, and 15.6 percent of total seafood exports to this market, respectively.

In conjunction with shrimp items

After falling in August, shrimp shipments to the United States rebounded in September 2021, reaching $97.6 million, an increase of 8%. Shrimp exports to this market totaled 775 million USD in the first nine months of this year, a 22 percent increase over the same time the previous year.

Today, the United States is Vietnam’s largest shrimp export market, accounting for 28% of the market. Demand for US shrimp imports remains robust, particularly as the market reopens and the year-end holidays approach.

US shrimp imports increased in August 2021, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This is also the ninth month in a row that the country’s shrimp imports have increased. In August 2021, the United States imported 89,407 tons of shrimp for $822.9 million, an increase of 8% in volume and 17% in value over August 2020.

Since the beginning of the year, US shrimp imports from Ecuador have steadily climbed. However, analysts believe that the current pace of increase in Ecuadorian shrimp exports to the United States will be difficult to sustain in the near future owing to a scarcity of raw materials for processing, which presents an opportunity for Vietnamese shrimp.

When using pangasius products

Pangasius exports to the United States reached 248 million USD in the first nine months of this year, a 43 percent increase over the same time last year, primarily frozen pangasius fillets/cuts (HS code 0304). The United States is now the second-largest market for Vietnam’s pangasius exports (after China), accounting for 23% of the market share.

Using tuna products

The United States is also the greatest market for Vietnamese tuna exports, with a turnover of US$226 million in the first nine months of this year, an increase of 8% year on year and accounting for 43.5 percent of total tuna exports from Vietnam. Furthermore, Vietnam has expanded crab exports to the United States in the past, with a value of 34 million USD, a 68 percent raise…

Demand in the US market is robust, while the already very low domestic supply of seafood (often only fulfilling 10% of domestic demand) has been lowered owing to production interruptions caused by COVID-19, a scarcity of raw materials, a manpower shortage, and the high price of seafood in the US. Therefore, the demand for seafood in this country is very large, especially shrimp and crab products…