The move was made after DOC on the same day announced the preliminary result of the 12th period of review (POR 12).
Vietnam’s shrimp exports to the US market last year dropped 7 percent against the previous year
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VASEP said on March 8 that the association, along with Fimex and all of its members, believe that the result was issued in error.
“For multiple years now, Vietnamese exporters have been examined during the administrative review process and none of them have received a dumping margin higher than a single-digit percentage rate,” VASEP said, noting that Fimex was examined in the 9th administrative review and received a rate of zero percent.
Fimex found that a conversion factor from headless to head-on shrimp had been applied incorrectly. If the conversion had been applied correctly, the margin would be only 1.19 percent.
VASEP called on DOC to make timely and fair adjustment for the Fimex and other Vietnamese shrimp exporters.
According to VASEP, though the preliminary conclusion has yet to take effect, or be applied, and the final conclusion can be different, it can still affect US importers and the shipment volume of Vietnamese shrimp to the country, particularly during the time pending the DOC’s final announcement.
Vietnam saw a surge in shrimp exports to most markets in 2017, except for the US, which showed a 7 percent reduction to US$659 million, according to VASEP, attributing the drop to the impacts of anti-dumping duty.
The US is at present the fourth biggest importer of Vietnamese shrimp. It used to be the biggest several years ago.
Besides shrimp, the United States has also restricted imports of pangasius seafood from Vietnam.
The restriction in the United States market has forced Vietnamese seafood exporters to seek new markets.
Hang Van, Deputy Director of Truong Giang Fisheries Joint Stock Company in the southern province of Dong Thap, said that in the past few years, when the US imposed a high anti-dumping duty, many businesses have moved their exports to other markets.
“Notably, in South Asia, Pakistan and India are quite potential markets for Vietnamese pangasius fish,” Van said. “Pakistan currently accounts for about 10 per cent of the company’s exports.”
Song Tien Seafood JSC and Ngoc Xuan Seafood JSC in the southern province of Tien Giang are also seeking ways to export their products to non-US markets, including the EU, China and Middle East.
Nguyen Thi Anh, the head of both businesses mentioned above, said her companies have been accessed a number of new markets, such as the Middle East, South America and China since last year.
“As for the EU market, it has been still the strategic market of businesses for many years, accounting for about 60 – 70 per cent of the total exports,” said Anh. “To keep the stable volume of customers in this market, the company has focused on investment, ensuring product quality from raw materials to processing.”
Therefore, although the company does not export seafood to the US, its export turnover is stable and growing, Anh added.
