Great potential for exporting tra fish to ASEAN markets (07-05-2019)
As of the end of March 2019, tra fish export to ASEAN reached US $ 55.17 million, up 18% compared to the same period last year. Particularly, the value of exports to Malaysia in March 2019 reached US $ 5.51 million, up 119% year on year. Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said that in the last 2 years, exporting tra and basa fish to ASEAN market has seen positive growth.
Specifically, in 2018, tra fish export to ASEAN reached US $ 202.6 million, up 41.5%. In particular, the 3 largest importing markets including Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines showed impress growth rate of 48.8%; 20.7% and 32.1%, respectively. In 2018, ASEAN was the fourth largest export market of Vietnamese tra fish enterprises after the US, China and EU.
In the first 3 months of 2019, tra fish export to this market also reached US $ 55.17 million, up 18% compared to the same period in 2018, of which the three largest markets are Thailand, Philippines and Malaysia grew well. As of the end of March 2019, tra fish export to ASEAN reached US $ 55.17 million, up 18% compared to the same period last year. Export value to Thailand increased by 6.5%; Philippines increased by 40.6% and Malaysia increased by 70.9%. Especially, during this time, tra fish export to Malaysia increased noticeably, in March 2019 alone, the value of tra fish export to Malaysia reached US $ 5.51 million, an increase of 119% compared to the same period last year. This is a remarkable market in the beginning of this year in the ASEAN region.
It can be said that ASEAN is a potential market of Vietnamese tra fish for many years. Two years ago, Thailand was the only import market that tra fish exporters found a lot of opportunities in. Then in 2018 and 2019, exporters started pushing their export to the Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia. This positive growth reflects trade agreements in the region, including the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) that has begun to promote results.
Currently, taxes on frozen tra fish fillet products (HS 030462) are at 0% according to agreements such as ATIGA; ASEAN – China Free trade Agreement (ACFTA) and ASEAN - Korea Free trade Agreement (AKFTA). The demand for importing tra fish in many countries in the region is increasing and stable. VASEP said that this is an opportunity for tra fish businesses in the coming time when they want to boost exports to regional countries.
Huong Tra