The value exports to the key markets gained positive growth, except for the Chinese market (down 5.7 per cent year on year). Specifically, Chile was the most noticed import market with growth rates of tuna export value of 146.5 per cent, followed by Japan, the EU, ASEAN, and As of March 15th 2018, Vietnam's tuna exports to main markets continued to grow well, with the value export to export markets reached nearly US $ 110 million, an increase of 18.2 per cent over the same period of 2017 (according to VASEP). The value exports to the key markets gained positive growth, except for the Chinese market (down 5.7 per cent year on year). Specifically, Chile was the most noticed import market with growth rates of tuna export value of 146.5 per cent, followed by Japan, the EU, ASEAN, and Israel.
Prominent stroke in tuna import picture of Vietnam by mid-March 2018 was the Chilean market. The value of tuna exports to Chile reached more than US $ 2.7 million, up 146.5 per cent over the same period last year. In terms of value, Chilean market accounted for only a small share of the total Vietnamese tuna export. However, it is worth noting that since the end of 2017, the value of Viet Nam’s tuna exports to this market started to grow continuously with a very high rate.
According to the ITC, Viet Nam is the 5th largest tuna exporter of Chile (after Ecuador, China, Thailand and Spain). In particular, Ecuador and Thailand have taken up almost all the tuna market in Chile. However, since late 2017, this share has been shared by a number of exporters, including Viet Nam. In the beginning of 2018, the average tuna import price at Chilean market was at US $ 1.95 to 2.2 per kg. In particular, tuna export prices of Viet Nam and Thailand were the highest in Chilean market.
In the EU block, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy continued to maintain positive growth, including notably the Dutch market with 51.2 per cent and German market with 40.2 per cent. In 2017, Germany was the second largest export market of Vietnamese tuna companies in the EU (after Italy), while Viet Nam was the sixth largest tuna exporter for Germany after Ecuador, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, the Netherlands and Spain. Being considered as a potential market for tuna processed and canned by Vietnamese tuna exporters, however, most of Vietnamese tuna products are being exported to this market still in frozen filet form.
Thanks to high per capita incomes and demand for premium seafood products, Germany is one of the two largest tuna importers in the EU block (just after France). Germany also has the highest import price of tuna products in the region. In 2017, Germany's tuna imports price ranged from US $ 4.98 to US $ 6.5 per kg, higher than the average import price of Austria, Denmark or France, whose import price were high in the region. In the first two months of 2018, Germany was the second biggest tuna importer of Viet Nam in the EU, with relatively high growth rates (approximately 200 per cent in January and 40 per cent in February 2018).
In the first quarter of 2018, tuna imports, especially processed tuna and canned tuna continued to increase sharply over the same period in 2017. In addition to the large supply, German customers also tended to import tuna products from ASEAN market, including the Philippines and Viet Nam. This is an opportunity for Vietnamese exporters to continue to focus on this market in the near future.
As of the end of the first 2 months of 2018, Vietnamese tuna products were available on the market of 80 countries and territories around the world. The US continued to be the biggest import market for tuna from Viet Nam, accounting for 29.9 per cent of the total, reaching US $ 25.8 million. EU market ranked the second, accounting for 24.3 per cent proportion, reaching nearly US $ 21 million.
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