According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the export of aquatic products in March was estimated at US$608 million, bringing the total shipment in the first three months of the year to $1.7 billion, up 11.5 percent year-on-year.
The fisheries sector is facing difficulties to meet yearly export target of US$9 billion
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Industry insiders said that the export value in Q1 was positive, however, the industry will still face many challenges to meet the export target of $9 billion set for this year due to numerous technical barriers being set up in major markets.
Truong Dinh Hoe, secretary general of Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), said the unprecedentedly high anti-dumping tariff imposed on Vietnam`s frozen pangasius fillets recently by the United States Department of Commerce (DOC) have cast a shadow on the country’s seafood exports.
Under the 13th administrative review (POR 13) released last month, DOC decided to slap anti-dumping duty of $2.39-7.74 per kilogram on frozen pangasius fillets which were imported from Vietnam between August 1, 2015 and July 31, 2016, saying that the Vietnamese products were shipped to the United States at too cheap prices.
VASEP and its member enterprises have objected to the DOC’s decision, saying that it is unfair and shows unduly excessive protection. VESEP will file a complaint with the United States Court of International Trade (CIT) on the issue to demand fair trade for local processors, Hoe said.
“Other importers of Vietnam’s tra fish also suffer a psychological impact,” said Hoe, explaining that American importers and others are awaiting the final say on the matter, which causes Vietnamese exporters to lose opportunities.
Data from the Ministry of Industry and Trade showed that Vietnam’s tra fish exports to the United States last year already tumbled against the previous year to just $344.5 million, largely owing to anti-dumping tariffs and the August catfish inspection from the United States. Tra fish shipments to the United States in the last three months of 2017 saw a deeper contraction of 30 percent.
Besides tra fish, other seafood products of Vietnam, especially shrimp, have been also facing intense competition in recent times given rising trade protectionism in various markets.
The preliminary result of the Vietnamese shrimp anti-dumping review issued by the DOC in POR12 put the highest tariff in 13 periods of administrative review, preventing Vietnamese enterprises from shipping shrimp to this market.
In addition, the European Union (EU), which overtook the United States as Vietnam’s largest seafood buyer in 2017 with $1.48 billion, has also turned more reserved towards Vietnam’s seafood by issuing the yellow card. The EU was imposed on Vietnam’s seafood on October 23, 2017 due to its failure to meet the requirements on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing prevention.
Vietnam expected that the EU will remove the yellow card on its seafood in the next few months as the country has applied many drastic and comprehensive measures according to the European Commission’s recommendations on fighting IUU fishing.
Meanwhile, though the Chinese market is Vietnam’s largest shrimp importer and an important tra fish buyer leapfrogging the EU market, there are also uncertainties due to large trade volume over the border, at some 44 percent. The secretary general of VASEP said it is difficult to control the quality of seafood in border trade, which may affect Vietnam’s seafood exports to this market in the future.
