A ray of light in a gloomy picture

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), it is estimated that Vietnam's seafood exports by the end of July 2023 will reach nearly 5 billion USD, down 25% compared to the same period in 2022 . Meanwhile, the deepest decrease was still pangasius with 36%, shrimp and tuna decreased by 27% over the same period last year. Particularly in July 2023, seafood exports were estimated at 830 million USD, down 11% compared to the same period in 2022. In which, shrimp exports decreased by 10% to about 345 million USD, pangasius reached 150 million USD, down 20%. , tuna decreased slightly by 3% and other fish decreased by 12% compared to July 2022. From a market perspective, the most obvious recovery signal was in the Chinese market, in July 2023, it increased by 45% over the same period last year, reaching nearly 180 million USD. Exports to other main markets are still 5%-40% lower than July 2022.

Truong Dinh Hoe, General Secretary of VASEP, said that seafood exports in the first half of 2023 were equal to 2019 levels, but decreased by over $1.8 billion compared to the previous year. However, in the current difficult context, businesses are not too pessimistic, must accept the reality of the market situation so that they have time to prepare, consolidate access to adequate information, better prepare for the future. year-end opportunity.

From a business perspective, Mr. Ho Quoc Luc, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sao Ta Food Joint Stock Company, said that the export turnover of the shrimp industry has increased very well for several decades, and in 2022, it has risen to over 4 billion USD. The difficulty of shrimp processing enterprises this year includes both objective and subjective. Objectively due to inflation and the world economic recession, the demand decreased sharply, while the supply increased from India; Ecuador causes an imbalance between supply and demand, causing shrimp prices to fall.

With subjective causes, diseases in shrimp farming are quite serious, causing the cost of shrimp farming in Vietnam to increase, unexpected difficulties, a combination of both objective and subjective, making it a huge challenge... shrimp industry.

As forecasted by VASEP, the reality is that seafood exports are recovering, albeit at a slow pace, and hopefully will be better in the last months of the year. There have been many bright spots in the picture of seafood exports, such as: output has increased month by month; the markets began to signal the settlement of inventories; Along with that, the year-end festival season will increase the demand for seafood. More importantly, the Chinese market is having a stronger consumption power. Hopefully the last few months of the year will be less gloomy.

Leveraging the strength of deep processing

Sharing about the production and processing of shrimp for export, Mr. Le Thanh Hoa, Deputy Director of the Department of Processing Quality and Market Development of Vietnam's agricultural products - Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said, the whole country has 374 establishments specializing and combining shrimp processing are eligible to export shrimp to more than 100 markets, with a capacity of over 1.7 million tons of raw materials/year, mainly in the South Central provinces; provinces in the Mekong Delta. This is the strength of this key export industry.

Assessing the processing stage, Mr. Ho Quoc Luc said that the strength of the shrimp industry is good shrimp farming, especially large-sized shrimp. However, large shrimp prices are falling sharply, more than 1/3, due to other countries. also focus on this strength of Vietnam. “In particular, an important highlight is that the shrimp processing level of Vietnamese enterprises is the highest among other countries, and the level of deep processing in Vietnam is very good. Therefore, in the large market segment, Vietnamese products hold the highest market share. However, competitors are also looking for ways to compete with this product of Vietnamese enterprises, so by all means must have a product strategy to have a better leap forward and sell at a good price.” - Mr. Luc share.

The picture of seafood exports has had a bright spot, but according to experts, businesses need to be well prepared to accelerate when the market recovers. Firstly, for export, the biggest focus is on raw materials, how to have enough processing materials when the market recovers. Secondly, about the market, continue to keep close contact with importers, keep the market with great demand to boost exports. For the seafood industry, currently the most interested is the Chinese market, which is a key seafood export market. In the first 6 months of 2023, Vietnam's shrimp exports to the Chinese and Hong Kong markets had a decrease of less than half of the general decrease, reaching $280 million, down 15.7% over the same period in 2022. , continue to strengthen standards and quality through international certifications.

In addition, businesses need to calculate market strategies, actively link in the industry, calculate in-depth development, in the direction of a green economy, and produce to meet the requirements of consumers around the world. In the immediate future, businesses need to focus on preparing to immediately respond to current new trends: environment, society, and governance to enter the world's playing field.

According to VASEP's forecast, in the last months of 2023, inflation, inventory levels will tend to decrease and the demand for year-end holidays will increase, which will help to expect seafood export turnover of Vietnam in particular. shrimp products will increase again. It is expected that from August onwards until the end of the year, import demand from Vietnam to China will increase again to serve the Mid-Autumn Festival, National Day and year-end festivals. Surely this year seafood export will reach the target of 9 billion USD.