Vietnam set new records for exports of tuna, squid and octopus

According to statistics from the Vietnam Aquatic Products Processing and Export Association (VASEP), Vietnam's total aquatic exports reached US$3.4 billion in the first nine months of this year, an increase of 34% year-on-year. It can be seen that in the first three quarters of this year, Vietnam's aquatic exports were equivalent to the total exports of the whole year of 2021, a record high.

Among the main aquatic products, tuna exports grew the most impressively. In the first 10 months of this year, tuna exports reached $890 million, the highest level in the history of exports of this product. Previously, tuna exports were the highest in 2021, at $757 million.

Although the growth rate of Vietnam's exports of some of its main products slowed down or tended to decline in the remaining months of this year, overall tuna exports will continue to grow.

According to VASEP's forecast, by the end of 2022, Vietnam's tuna exports to Europe, the Middle East, Japan and other markets will continue to show growth. Ms. Li Yong, deputy manager of VASEP's Trade Promotion and Training Center, said that tuna exports will exceed the US$1 billion mark for the first time by the end of 2022.

In addition to tuna, exports of squid and octopus are also actively growing. As of the end of October 2022, exports of such products reached US$625 million, an increase of 32% year-on-year, exceeding the total exports in 2021 of about US$602 million. By the end of the year, exports of squid and octopus are expected to exceed the $700 million mark for the first time, reaching $734 million.

South Korea remains Vietnam's largest import market for squid and octopus, accounting for 36% of Vietnam's total squid and octopus exports. In the first nine months of this year, Vietnam's exports of squid and octopus to South Korea reached US$197 million, an increase of 19% year-on-year.