EU is Vietnam's largest clam export market

Vietnamese clams surprise at the 2022 Global Seafood Expo

The 2022 Global Seafood Expo will take place from April 26 to 28 in Barcelona (Spain) - which is considered the EU's fisheries center - the stall displaying Vietnamese clam products at Hall 4B501 is outstanding design, attracting the attention of a large number of clam importers and distributors from many countries around the world.

Ben Tre Seafood Import-Export Joint Stock Company introduces clam products to buyers from Italy

3 leading enterprises in Vietnam including: Go Dang Seafood Joint Stock Company (GODACO), Ben Tre Seafood Joint Stock Company (BESEACO), Ben Tre Seafood Import Export Joint Stock Company (AQUATEX) have deep involvement in the The project activity "Sustainable and comprehensive development of the clam and bamboo value chain in Vietnam (SCBV)" for the period 2018 - 2023 was selected to directly bring corporate products to the fair.

In the first 2 days, the Vietnamese clam stall had nearly 100 importers and distributors, mainly from Spain, Italy, France, the US, Portugal, the UK, Turkey, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. United Arab Emirates, Korea, Republic of Egypt, Israel, Czech, Denmark... to visit.

The trend of consuming clam products this year is towards meat clams, steamed whole white/brown clams, processed value added products such as steamed clams with garlic butter, clams with tomyum seasoning sauce, etc.

In an effort to repair the broken supply chain during the Covid-19 period and difficulties caused by inflation, seafood and food prices increased in the EU, Vietnamese seafood products in general and MSC clam products (clams). certified by the Marine Stewardship Council of the Marine Stewardship Council) in particular has received great attention and high purchasing demand from many importers around the world.

In particular, some EU buyers shared that: “We did not know that Vietnamese companies GODACO, AQUATEX, BESEACO could directly export clam and seafood products to the EU market, 20 This year we all have to buy your products through another intermediary. Fortunately, we got to know you today and were directly connected . ”

Many purchase and sale agreements have been agreed at the exhibition booth, which is a good sign to expand the Vietnamese clam market after a long time facing many difficulties in exporting due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

MSC - passport for Vietnamese clams

The demand for clams in the EU market is very large, this is one of the main groups of seafood traded and consumed in the EU market. Notably, in the past year, the export of shellfish to the EU market increased sharply by 37%, reaching 87 million USD, mainly because the export of clam products increased by 42% to 78 million USD. Clams become the 4th largest export value seafood to the EU market. In which, clam exports to the three largest markets, Spain, Italy and Portugal, all increased by 38-44%.

Processing clams for export

Mr. Nguyen Nhu Tiep - Director of the Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Control Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) - assessed the international market demand for bivalve molluscs including clams, blood cockles, Perfume snails, pearl farms, scallops, abalone, oysters... are very high. However, currently the clam harvest in our country has not yet met the orders from the EU.

The reason is, the rate of issuance of Certificate of Origin for this product in the EU is not much; products lack variety, and have little added value; promotion, brand development, market is still limited. "The number of export shipments of bivalve molluscs is still warned by foreign countries, of which, the EU market warns of 3 batches of Salmonella-contaminated steamed clams (in 2021)," cited Mr. Nguyen Nhu Tiep.

On the other hand, mollusk farming, especially clam farming, is currently facing many difficulties such as declining resources, unstable seed quality, impacts of environmental pollution and climate change.

In order to effectively exploit opportunities, especially taking advantage of free trade agreements, and at the same time strive to achieve the goal of higher export turnover in 2022 than in 2021, said Mr. Phung Duc Tien - Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. Rural development - it is recommended that functional units need to study and develop technical processes for mollusk farming to improve the quality of commercial mollusks. At the same time, proactively and regularly assess market developments, propose solutions, promptly inform people to know, have an appropriate production plan.

On the local side, businesses, industry associations and people involved in mollusk farming need to cooperate and link production in chains to reduce intermediaries, reduce production costs, and improve product quality; at the same time, applying certified farming methods (VietGAP, GlobalGAP, ASC...) to improve product value.

Clams in the coastal areas of 3 provinces of Ben Tre, Tra Vinh and Tien Giang are having great advantages in terms of prestige, quality, and especially clams in Ben Tre have been granted the MSC international certification. Currently, clam meat in these provinces is highly appreciated for its taste, nutrition, white flesh, thick flesh and is a favorite product in many major markets around the world.

According to the representative of Oxfam Organization in Vietnam, MSC is valid as a passport, ensuring the development of safe seafood and a protective trademark for Vietnamese seafood products.

Therefore, in order to exploit the potential of the export market, besides assisting businesses to effectively approach buyers, over the past time, Oxfam Organization in Vietnam and VCCI and enterprises have conveyed relevant messages Concerning behind the goal of developing the clam market is to develop sustainable clam material areas.

“Through discussions with customers, businesses realize the clear requirements and necessity in implementing the MSC Certification, which is a certification of products caught from a sustainable, well-managed fishery. and responsibly exploited” , added the representative of Oxfam in Vietnam.

Currently, the EU is the largest export market, accounting for more than 70% of the total export volume, then the US, Singapore and Japan are the largest importers of Vietnamese clams. Products are manufactured according to MSC standards to ensure food hygiene and safety, easily penetrate into supermarkets, high-end restaurants or export to fastidious markets such as EU, Japan... On the packaging Product packaging is labeled with MSC Certification to help consumers recognize that this is a safe, environmentally and socially responsible product.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, increasing market demand and stable clam and clam production are supportive factors for Vietnam's bivalve mollusk exports to the EU. In addition, tax incentives from the EVFTA Agreement also partly help promote the export of Vietnamese bivalve mollusk products to the EU.

With the efforts of the ministries and functional agencies in developing the raw material area to ensure the quality standards from the import market, it is expected that Vietnam's clam exports to the EU market will continue to have positive results. impressive growth in the near future.

+ OTHER POST:

• What do you see about the export rankings of the provinces in the Vietnam Import-Export Report 2021?(04.05.2022)
• Exports to the US reached 26 billion USD(18.04.2022)
• Algeria is a potential market for Vietnamese agricultural products and food(18.04.2022)
• Demand increases, shrimp export turnover maintains growth momentum(18.04.2022)
• China increases rice imports, a good opportunity for Vietnam(18.04.2022)
• Exports to China rebounded strongly, reaching 13.7 billion USD in 3 months(18.04.2022)