The VASEP cited the General Department of Vietnam Customs statistics showing that Vietnam earned 17.3 million USD from selling shrimp to the UK in the first two months of this year, up 38 percent from the same period last year. In the period, the UK accounted for 4.6 percent of Vietnam’s total export turnover of shrimp. The UK surpassed Germany to become Vietnam’s biggest shrimp importer in the European Union.
The VASEP attributed the growth to the country’s increasing demand for warm-water shrimp. Statistics from the International Trade Centre (ITC) showed the price of Vietnamese shrimp in this market was about 11.5 USD per kilo, lower than that of Canada, Thailand and Bangladesh – the UK’s other main shrimp suppliers.
According to VASEP, the UK’s demand for warm-water shrimp is likely to continue rising in the remaining months of this year. Vietnam’s shrimp export turnover is expected to reach 3.3 billion USD this year, a year-on-year rise of 12 percent. The UK was the only market in the bloc where Vietnam's shrimp exports posted a positive growth rate of 24.4 percent in the first eight months of this year. This was compared to the drop of 20.7 percent and 29.7 percent of Germany and the Netherlands, respectively.
The impressive growth of shrimp exports to the UK was attributed to the market's rising demand of warm-water shrimp, according to Vasep. Vasep said the UK surpassed Germany to become Vietnam's largest shrimp export market since May with a turnover of 72.4 million USD, accounting for 4 percent of the country's total shrimp exports in the eight month period.
From the beginning of this year, Vietnam prevailed in shrimp exports to the UK over other rivals in Southeast Asia region such as India, Thailand and Indonesia whose shrimp exports to the UK dropped 20 percent, 38 percent and 7 percent, respectively in the seven-month period due to higher duties.
"This provides great opportunities for Vietnam's shrimp exporters to expand the market share in the UK amid its rising demand for warm-water shrimp," Vasep said, forecasting that shrimp exports to the UK would continue to rise during the remaining months of the years. However, the increase would not be huge due to the on-going impacts of the Europe's economic downturn, Vasep added.
According to VASEP, the UK remains Vietnam’s largest import market. However, last year Vietnamese shrimp exports to the American market stood at 657 million USD, dropping 38.3 percent from 2014 due to decreasing export prices, weak demand and fierce competition from foreign rivals. In 2015, Vietnamese shrimp was sold in 92 markets, down from 150 markets the previous year. Key markets included the US, Japan, the EU, China, the Republic of Korea, Canada, Australia, ASEAN and Switzerland.
