After a while of consecutive slump, exports of Vietnamese tuna to the US has risen again, and yet the growth rate stays low. In particular, the export value of Vietnamese tuna to this market rose by 5.2% and 1.6% respectively in August, leaving a total export value in the first nine months of more than $208 million, down 13.8% as compared to the same period last year.

As of Sep 2020, exports of fresh, frozen and dried tuna to the US continued to decrease, down nearly 39% from the same period last year, meanwhile, exports of processed and canned tuna increased by nearly 29%. This led to an increase in the total export value of processed and canned tuna to the US from 36.8% to 55%.

Fillet and frozen tuna HS0304 have been major products going to the US by the end of Sep 2020. However, the export value was recorded decreasingly as compared to the same period last year, with density accounting for only 44% of the country’s tuna export value to the US in the first nine months of 2020.

On the contrary, exports of canned tuna to the US have been increasing, with a vast majority of canned skipjack tuna in water of all kinds. As compared to the previous quarter, the export density of Vietnam’s canned tuna has been increasing as this product accounts for nearly 36% of total export value to this market. Likewise, an increasing sales of other processed tuna have been recorded in the US.

The average selling price of Vietnamese fillet and frozen tuna HS03048700 going to the US in the first nine months of 2020 ranged at 9.3 USD/kg. Meanwhile, the average selling price of fillet and frozen steamed tuna HS16041490 ranged at 7.1 USD/kg.

Nevertheless, despite growth in exports of canned tuna to the US, Vietnam’s tuna products have faced difficulties in competing against the same products going from Indonesia and Mexico with cheaper prices. While prices of canned tuna products of Indonesia and Mexico are on the decline, Vietnam tends to make them higher.

Source: vietfishmagazine