Vietnam’s tuna exports to EU see strong surge thanks to EVFTA

22:22 | 27/09/2021 Print
(TBTCO) - Vietnam exported 15,870 tonnes of tuna worth US$73.33 million to the European Union in the first half of 2021, up 39.3% and 31.6%, respectively, against the same period last year, according to a journal published by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).
Vietnam’s tuna exports to EU see strong surge thanks to EVFTA
Fishermen bring tuna to storage in Tien Chau port, Tuy An District of Phu Yen Province. (Photo: VNA/VNS)

The tuna shipments accounted for about 15.1% of Vietnam’s total seafood export value to the EU.

In the second quarter of 2021, the country shipped 9,360 tonnes of tuna to this market, raking in US$45.05 million, up 43.9% in volume and 59.3% in value from the previous quarter.

The surges were attributed to tariff reductions granted to Vietnam’s tuna products under the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which took effect on August 1, 2020.

According to the MoIT, Vietnamese tuna was sold at US$4.62 per kg on average to the EU in the first six months of the year, down 0.27% year on year. The global tuna prices have been also declining on the back of weakening demand of canned tuna during the period.

Significant growth was seen in a number of EU markets, including Poland which recorded imports of Vietnamese tuna rocketing 989% in volume and 608.6% in value, and Bulgaria, 289% and 229%, respectively.

Data from the European Statistical Office (Eurostat) showed that Vietnam was the EU’s eighth largest provider of tuna outside the union in the first four months of 2021, making up a 4.9% share of the EU’s total tuna imports, compared to 4% in the same period last year.

The MoIT’s Agency of Foreign Trade warned that Vietnam’s tuna shipments are likely to continue facing difficulties from the EU as a result of the COVID-19 resurgence and the “yellow card” warning on the illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing imposed by the EC on Vietnam.

T.H

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