A tuna processing factory in Hanoi. - Vietnam News/ANN
HANOI, Aug1 (Bernama): The demand for tuna in foreign markets amid the strong rise in prices of other foodstuff is predicted to lead to a surge in tuna export volume and value of Vietnam, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
The association reported that in the first six months of this year, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) countries, the third largest market of Vietnamese tuna after the US and Europe, imported US$68 million worth of the fish from Vietnam, a 50 per cent rise over the same period last year.
Vietnam news agency (VNA) reported that in addition, VASEP said the US Department of Agriculture has announced that the US faced the highest inflation in the past 40 years, with foodstuff prices increasing by 19 per cent compared to the average level in the past 10 years, including that of chicken, a popular cheap protein source in the US.
VASEP held that when the prices of cheap protein foodstuff increase, tuna could be a good alternative of US consumers. Therefore, the association said Vietnamese tuna is enjoying more opportunities in such markets.
According to VNA, this year, tuna export turnover is expected to reach about US$1.1 billion, up 45 per cent from the previous year, considering a 56 per cent growth in the first six months of the year.
Tuna export turnover in June reached US$90 million, a year-on-year increase of 41 per cent, bringing the value for the first half of the year to US$553 million, a year-on-year rise of 56 per cent.
Regarding markets, VASEP said that good growth was seen in most major markets except the EU, Israel and Egypt, it added.
As of the end of June, tuna export value to the US totalled more than US$300 million, up 96 per cent over the same period last year.
Besides the three major export markets, tuna exports to Saudi Arabia, Thailand, the Philippines and Russia also increased.
VASEP forecasts that tuna exports in the second half of the year will continue to grow well, but at a slower rate. - Bernama
