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

In the first 2 months of 2016, the U.S. remained its position as the biggest shrimp importer of Vietnam, while China - Hong Kong (with the revenue of US$64.8 million, accounting for 17.1% of total Vietnam exports) emerged to the 2^nd from the 4^th place among top 5 largest importers (the U.S., Japan, EU, China - Hong Kong and South Korea) of Vietnam shrimp.

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

The U.S.

The U.S. remains the largest shrimp importer of Vietnam, accounting for 24.8% of total exports. Shrimp sales to the U.S. in Feb 2016 hit US$43.8 million; up 52.3% compared to Feb 2015. The figure in shrimp exports to this market in Jan-Feb 2016 estimated at US$93.8 million; up 36.2% over the same period in 2015.

In Sep 2015, the US Department of Commerce (DOC) issued the final result of the ninth anti-dumping duty administrative reviews (POR9) on frozen shrimp imported from Vietnam (from Feb, 1st 2013 to Jan, 31st 2014). Accordingly, the average tax duty (0.91%) decreased from the preliminary result issued in Mar 2015 (0.93%) and downed sharply from 6.37% from POR8. Thanks to this result, Vietnam shrimp exporters expected shrimp sales to the U.S. to be on the upward trend. However, Vietnam shrimp exports to the U.S. in 2015 was down 25.3% compared to 2014. In Jan-Feb 2016, shrimp exports to the U.S. began to increase compared to the same period last year. In 2016, demand for shrimp in the U.S. is expected to edge up thanks to gains in the dollar, and shrimp price is expected to drop compared to 2 years ago. Ups in shrimp sales from food service and retailers also helped to boost demand for shrimp imports in the U.S.

According to Undercurrentnews, DOC recently proposed raising taxes on shrimp imports from India, Vietnam and Thailand into the U.S. (from Feb, 1^st 2014 to Jan, 31^st 2015) during the 10th period of review (POR10). If the official result is issued as proposed, Vietnam shrimp exports to the U.S. might be affected.

China-Hong Kong

In Jan-Feb 2016, Vietnam shrimp exports to China reached US$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 (after the U.S) in the first 2 months of 2016. China’s government encouraged importing raw shrimp to offset domestic shrimp production which was declining, this led to high import demand for shrimp to process and re-export.

The EU

In Feb 2016, Vietnam shrimp exports to the EU touched US$26.3 million; up 2.3% compared to Feb 2015. However, the figure in the first 2 months of 2016 decreased by 1.8% over Jan-Feb last year (US$63.5 million). Notably, Belgium overtook the Netherlands into the top 3 largest Vietnam shrimp imports (the UK, Germany, Belgium) in volume. The value of shrimp exports to the UK and Belgium in the first 2 months of 2016 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.

In the EU, demand for ready-to-eat products is likely on an upward trend due to consumers’ work pressure. Previously, the EU mainly imports shrimp HOSO, however, the market now tends to import more processed products such as marinated or skewered shrimp.

Due to the economic crisis, the value of shrimp imports into EU is predicted to decrease, however, demand for shrimp remained stable. Demand for reasonably priced shrimp like white shrimp will increase, while demand for back tiger shrimp will decrease.

Written by Kim Thu