According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers , in October 2022, Vietnam's shrimp exports to China increased by 50% to 65 million USD. This increase helps China surpass the United States, continuing to be Vietnam's largest shrimp import market in October.

China is Vietnam's largest shrimp import market in October 2022

Accumulating 10 months, shrimp exports to the Chinese market reached 547 million USD, up 60% over the same period. In October, Vietnam's shrimp exports to China recorded the highest growth rate in the top 5 main shrimp import markets of Vietnam.

China's domestic shrimp production declined due to adverse weather and shrimp diseases in some major shrimp production areas. The increased demand for shrimp imports for the Mid-Autumn Festival, National Day, and the Lunar New Year has prompted China to increase shrimp imports in recent months.

According to China Customs, in October 2022, China's shrimp imports reached 80,000 tons, down from 87,000 tons imported in September.

Supply from India (mainly headless), halved to 10,000 tons in October from 20,000 tons in September. Imports from Ecuador fell 5,000 tons from 49,000 tons in September.

In terms of import value, China's shrimp imports reached US$524 million in October, of which US$310 million was imported from Ecuador and US$68 million from India. The average price of imports from Ecuador decreased from $6.33/kg in September to $6.31/kg in October.

In the first 10 months of this year, China imported 691,000 tons of frozen warm water shrimp, up 49% over the same period last year, import value increased by 65% to US$4.52 billion.

It is expected that China's shrimp imports in November and December may continue to decline compared to the previous months, although they still recorded a strong increase compared to the same period last year. This is due to a seasonal drop in demand after stockpiling for the Lunar New Year. Import demand is expected to increase strongly after the Lunar New Year in China.

Recently, Chinese President Xi Jinping has sent a message that he will not immediately relax the "Zero-Covid" policy. However, since July 2022, China has removed the policy of suspending the import of frozen food contaminated with Sars-COV-2 virus after nearly 2 years of implementation. This is also positive news for shrimp suppliers to China, including Vietnam.