Vietnam sees seafood export boom thanks to Pacific trade bloc

Since the trade agreement between the 11 nations of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) came into effect at the turn of 2019, Vietnam has witnessed a boom in seafood exports to fellow member states, reports Vietnam News.

Exports of seafood to the other members of the bloc have increased by 15% year-on-year in the first four months of 2019, generating $502 million in revenue, according to Vietnam`s ministry of agriculture and rural development.

Japan, also a member of the CPTPP, increased imports of Vietnamese pangasius by 60% y-o-y in Q1 to $8.58m, while imports of Vietnamese shrimp rose by 1.4% to $121.7m.

Thanks to the CPTPP, which was signed on March 8, 2018, but came into effect on December 31, many tariff lines on seafood have been reduced or eliminated, giving many sectors an edge on industry rivals from outside the bloc.

For instance, roughly 5% of all Vietnamese shrimp exports go to Canada, a bloc member, meaning Vietnam now has an advantage in that market over other major shrimp exporting nations such as India, Thailand or Indonesia, who are not part of the CPTPP.

As a result, Vietnamese companies are reportedly investing heavily in their facilities, expanding their capacity and purchasing modern processing equipment to meet the standards required by other countries in the CPTPP.

Both Tran Van Linh, chairman of Thuan Phuoc Seafoods, and Le Van Quang, chairman of Minh Phu Seafood Group, have said they plan to expand company production and focus the surplus supply on CPTPP member stats.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese exports to China are also set to grow this year, with the country`s fishing industry targeting total exports of $1.5 billion to the world`s largest seafood market this year, up from $1.2bn in 2018. 

China recently announced tariff exemptions for 33 Vietnamese seafood products, including lobster, tiger shrimp, sea shrimp, cod, clams, pangasius, round scads, tuna, and octopus.