Vietnam shrimp exports to Korea are expected to increase by nearly 30% in 2019 (19-02-2019)
South Korea ranked the 5th in importing shrimp from Vietnam, accounting for 10.9% of total shrimp export value of Vietnam.
In 2018, Vietnam shrimp exports to S. Korea reached US $ 385.8 million, up 1% compared to 2017. With stable demand, high export prices, and tariff preferences through the Korea – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (KVFTA) compared to its competitors, Vietnam still has many opportunities to boost shrimp exports to this market in 2019.
In the first half of 2018, Vietnam shrimp export to S. Korea grew positively in all months. The second half of the year, Vietnam shrimp exports to Korea reversed to go down. Shrimp prices in the world market as well as in domestic market decreased, the world supply of shrimp increased, affecting the export of Vietnam shrimp to S. Korea in the second half of 2018.
In 2018, in the structure of Vietnam's shrimp products exported to S. Korea, white leg shrimp accounted for the largest proportion of 85.5% while that of black tiger shrimp accounted for only 6.2%. In particular, live/fresh/frozen white leg shrimp (HS03 code) accounted for the highest value of all Vietnamese shrimp products exported to S. Korea. The export price of peeled headless, without tail white leg shrimp sized 21/15, 51/70, 71/90, 91/110, 100/200 of Vietnam to S. Korea ranged from US $ 7 2-9.5/ kg. According to ITC statistics, in 2018, importing shrimp to this market reached nearly US $ 650.8 million, up 7.2% compared to 2017.
Vietnam is the largest supplier of shrimp to S. Korea accounting for an overwhelming 58% market share comparing to other competitors (Thailand 11.2%, Ecuador 10.5%, and China 4.8%). Among the largest shrimp supplies to S. Korea, shrimp imports from Vietnam and Ecuador increased while imports from Thailand and China decreased compared to 2017. In the S. Korean market, Vietnam must compete on price with Chinese, Indian and Ecuadorian shrimp. However, Vietnam is subject to the lowest import tax (10%) compared to other rival suppliers such as China (20%), India (12.5%), Ecuador (20%) and Thailand (10%). It is expected that Vietnam will export about US $ 500 million to S. Korea in 2019, an increase of 29.5% compared to 2018.
South Korea Shrimp import
Value: thousand US $
|
Suppliers
|
2017
|
2018
|
Up, down (%)
|
|
World
|
607,059
|
650,787
|
7.2
|
|
Vietnam
|
346,572
|
378,043
|
9.1
|
|
Thailand
|
75,053
|
72,638
|
-3.2
|
|
Ecuador
|
65,826
|
68,653
|
4.3
|
|
China
|
35,954
|
31,262
|
-13.1
|
|
Malaysia
|
25,528
|
29,601
|
16.0
|
|
Argentina
|
13,861
|
20,643
|
48.9
|
|
India
|
10,153
|
13,054
|
28.6
|
|
Arab Saudi
|
9,404
|
11,861
|
26.1
|
|
Peru
|
4,188
|
6,175
|
47.4
|
|
Philippines
|
3,007
|
4,517
|
50.2
|
|
Indonesia
|
5,414
|
3,727
|
-31.2
|
|
US
|
1,325
|
2,855
|
115.5
|
|
Canada
|
3,258
|
2,514
|
-22.8
|
|
Bangladesh
|
991
|
1,305
|
31.7
|
|
Russia
|
2,911
|
1,275
|
-56.2
|
|
Norway
|
1,149
|
855
|
-25.6
|
|
Greenland
|
646
|
333
|
-48.5
|
Source: ITC
Huong Tra