Tra fish export in the first 11 months of 2017 up 5.3 per cent (30-01-2018)
As of November 2017, tra fish export was estimated at US $ 1.62 billion, up 5.3 per cent compared to the same period last year. Of which, tra fish export to the U.S and EU saw a negative growth rate; as a result, Vietnamese seafood exporters turned to other markets such as China – Hong Kong and other potential markets such as Brazil, Mexico and Saudi Arabia
China – Hong Kong
In the first eleven months of 2017, tra fish export to China – Hong Kong reached US $ 373.3 million, increasing by 37.9 per cent compared to the same period last year and accounting for nearly 23 per cent of total tra fish export. Although growth rate of tra fish export to the market saw a slight decrease, this is still the largest import market of Vietnamese tra fish in 2017.
China was both a large seafood market exporter and a great seafood importer in the world. What is more, Chinese consumers tended to favour many kinds of tra fish products in different segments. With the advantage of bordering, Viet Nam can easily transport seafood products both via marine and road ways which facilitate export activities to China. However, China market is unstable with unclear regulation on customs procedures. Therefore, this market could be a successful one for Vietnamese seafood export but it is difficult to forecast growth rate of this market in 2018.
U.S
US was the leading importer of Vietnamese tra fish; however, this item export value to the market has seen a consecutive decline over the past months due to technical and commercial barriers. By the end of November 2017, Viet Nam’s tra fish export value to the U.S reached US $ 319.7 million, a reduction of 9.7 per cent compared to the same period last year.
Over the recent years, the outcomes of Administrative Review of anti-dumping tax have been resulted in high tax on tra fish. Also, in the 13rd Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, tax on tra fish was as 3 times higher as that in the previous Review, causing the number of Vietnamese tra fish exporters to decrease
Brazil, Mexico and Saudi Arabia
In the first 11 months of 2017, Brazil, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia were the potential markets of Viet Nam’s tra fish. During this period, Viet Nam’s tra fish export to these markets gained respectively US $93.8 million, US $93.2 million and US $50.2 million, increasing by 69.2 per cent, 21.9 per cent and 7.1 per cent compared to the same period last year.
In November alone, tra fish export value to these three markets increasing by from 10.6 per cent to 78.5 per cent compared to the same period last year.
2017 was a tough year for Vietnamese tra fish since there were technical and commercial barriers from the main markets. However, this is a chance for Vietnamese enterprises to reorganize their production and trading including improvement of product quality and development of products which are suitable to each market and can meet the requirements of importers.
Giáng Hương