Opinion

Vietnamese Shrimp Exports Resume Growth in August Despite Lower Volume to the US

Frozen Common Shrimp & Prawn
Vietnam
United States
Published Sep 30, 2022
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•Vietnam’s overall shrimp exports resumed MoM growth and widened YoY growth in August.
•Of major destinations, exports to Japan experienced a notable 120% YoY growth.
•Problems and risks remain, such as high input costs and lower demand from major destinations such as the US.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), overall shrimp (unprocessed and processed) exports from Vietnam reached $398 million in August this year, representing a 4% MoM increase and an annual increase of 41%.

From January through August 2022, export value has now surpassed $3 billion, representing a 24% YoY increase. In July, exports had declined by 8% MoM and 14% YoY, mainly on the back of a lower volume exported to the US, which had high inventories of shrimp products.

Despite another decline in exports to the US, overall Vietnam shrimp exports managed to resume their growth path strengthened by export value increases in most of all other major markets.

The VASEP report highlighted exports to Japan. Exports to this destination were over $67 million in August (up by 120% YoY). Exports from January through August recorded $463 million (up by 21% YoY). A lower freight cost to this destination was a main driver for this growth.

Despite the resumption of export growth in August, the VASEP report mentioned several problems and risk factors going forward, such as a tighter raw material supply and high transportation and production costs. In addition, inflation has pressured consumer demand in the major overseas market for this product, the US, and also in Europe.

US Imports of Vietnamese Frozen Shrimp Resilient to Higher Prices.

According to USDA data, from Jan through July 2022, the US imported 15.26 thousand mt of frozen shrimp out of Vietnam, worth $195 million. In terms of both volume and value, this was the largest quantity for the first seven months of the year since 2016.Nonetheless, both volume and value in July were considerably lower compared to the same month last year, down 32% and 25%, respectively. Still, compared to July's historical average from 2012-2021, July 2022's numbers were slightly higher.

In July 2022, US import prices for Vietnamese frozen shrimp stood at $12.94/kg, up by 3% MoM and 11% YoY, likely reflecting the higher input costs the VASEP mentioned. This increase comes after a 4% decline in June.

It's worth noting that something that seems paradoxical has happened with US imports of Vietnamese frozen shrimp since 2021. Despite having a considerably higher price compared to the average price of other major exporters, including India, Ecuador and Indonesia, Vietnam's export share has not declined. This reveals a stronger US preference for larger-sized shrimp of both black-tiger and vannamei varieties out of Vietnam.


Source: Tridge and USDA

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