Positive outlook for tuna exports from Vietnam to the United Kingdom

DNHN - Currently, the United Kingdom imports a substantial quantity of fresh and frozen tuna from Vietnam, which accounts for 99.9% of total export revenue.

According to data from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), the tuna export industry is currently experiencing growth in the British market. Although Vietnam ranks only thirteenth in terms of tuna supply volume to the United Kingdom, VASEP is optimistic about the country's export prospects in the final months of the year.

The prolonged El Nino conditions this year, which reduced rainfall in the Panama Canal, contribute to this optimism. This has impacted the shipment of goods from South American nations, including Ecuador, through the Panama Canal to Europe. Shipping companies have been forced to choose alternative routes, such as passing through the Strait of Magellan at the southernmost tip of South America, which adds thousands of kilometers.

VASEP believes this situation presents opportunities for Asian nations, such as Vietnam, to increase tuna exports to European markets, including the United Kingdom. Currently, the United Kingdom imports a substantial quantity of fresh and frozen tuna from Vietnam, which accounts for 99.9% of total export revenue. In comparison to the same time frame, exports of these products from Vietnam to the United Kingdom have increased by up to 98%. However, processed and canned tuna exports decreased.

According to data from Vietnam Customs, after a sharp decrease of 51% in May 2023, Vietnam's tuna exports to the UK continued to increase in the next 2 months. In the first seven months of 2023, Vietnam's total tuna export turnover to the United Kingdom increased by more than 77% over the same period in 2022, reaching over USD 4.5 million.

In the context of high inflation and rising tuna raw material prices, which have led to a decline in tuna consumption demand in many markets, VASEP believes that Vietnam retains a significant competitive advantage in markets such as the United Kingdom (UK) as a result of the Vietnam-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA). Furthermore, the UK's participation in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is also expected to boost trade and opportunities to export Vietnamese tuna to the UK.

Although Vietnam's tuna exports are still lower than in the same period last year, down about 28% in the first seven months of 2023, the UK market is growing and the EU market has positive prospects. Vietnam's tuna industry has growth potential in a variety of other markets.

P.V (t/h)