2016 looks rosy for Vietnam shrimp exports

After an estimated 25% decline (in terms of value) in 2015, shrimp exportsin in the first two months of 2016 showed positive growth. In January 2016, shrimp exports earned US$227.4 million, up 10.2% from the same month in 2015.

Export earnings in February 2016 reached $151 million, or an increase of 6.1%. For the two months, shrimp exports totalled $378.4 million, up 8.5% over January-February 2015.

Shrimp exports to the US and China-Hong Kong posted a significant increase of over 36%, while those to other major markets registered slight decreases (the EU -1.8%; Japan -2.4%; Korea -0.6%; Canada -17.3%; and Asean -2.5%).

During the two-month period, the US retained its position as the biggest shrimp importer of Vietnamese shrimp, while China-Hong Kong was the second-biggest from being No. 4 (purchasing $64.8 million worth of shrimp, or 17.1% of total exports). Others among the Top 5 importers were Japan, the EU and South Korea.

Whiteleg shrimp accounted for 56.1% of the total exports, black tiger shrimp 35.8% and other marine shrimp 8.1%. The proportion of whiteleg shrimp and other marine shrimp decreased (in 2015, they accouned for 59.4% and 30.7%, respectively), while the black tiger shrimp increased (9.9%) compared with the same period in 2015.

US market

The US remains the largest shrimp importer of Vietnam, accounting for 24.8% of total exports. Shrimp sales to the US in February 2016 hit $43.8 million, up 52.3% compared with February 2015. Shrimp exports to this market in the first two months were estimated at $93.8 million, up 36.2% over the same period in 2015.

Vietnamese shrimp exporters had expected shrimp sales to the US to be on the upward trend due to decreased tax duty. In September 2015, after the US Department of Commerce completed the ninth anti-dumping duty administrative reviews (POR9) on frozen shrimp imported from Vietnam (from February 2013 to January 2014), the average tax duty was decreased to 0.91% from 0.93% in March 2015. It was down sharply by 6.37% from POR8.

Nevertheless, Vietnamese shrimp exports to the US in 2015 were down 25.3% compared with 2014. In January-February 2016, shrimp exports to the US began to increase, thanks to a stronger dollar. Shrimp prices are expected to be cheaper than the prices two years ago. Demand for shrimp in food-service and retail outlets also helped boost US shrimp imports.

China-Hong Kong market

In January-February 2016, Vietnamese shrimp exports to China reached $64.8 million, up 36.5% year-on-year. This was the strongest growth among the Top 10 shrimp importers of Vietnam. Thanks to the growth, China became the second-largest importer of Vietnamese shrimp in the first two months of 2016. China''s government encouraged importing raw shrimp for processing and re-export to offset the declining domestic shrimp production.

EU market

In February 2016, Vietnam shrimp exports to the EU hit $26.3 million, up 2.3% compared with February 2015. Exports in the first-two-month period also decreased, by 1.8%.

Belgium overtook the Netherlands to become the third-largest importer in volume, after the UK and Germany.

The value of shrimp exports to the UK and Belgium in the first two months increased by 38% and 42.5%, respectively, while exports to Germany fell by 15.8%. In early 2016, orders from Europe increased, thanks to a drop in inventories.

Due to the economic slowdown, the value of shrimp imports into EU is predicted to decrease despite the stable demand for shrimp. Demand for reasonably priced shrimp like white shrimp is expected to increase, while demand for black tiger shrimp is seen to decrease.

Source: Vasep