HANOI, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Vietnamese seafood exports extended declines in May on continued demand contraction from major markets, hitting revenues of seafood firms, Vietnam News Agency reported on Monday.
The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said a global slowdown is taking a toll on Vietnam's seafood exports and falling prices are weighing on producers' profits.
Seafood exports in May dropped 23.9 percent from a year ago to 800 million U.S. dollars, meanwhile, sales in the first five months of the year plunged 28.1 percent from the same period last year to 3.37 billion U.S. dollars, according to the General Statistics Office.
"Shrimp and pangasius, key export earners, fell sharply in the first five months of 2023," said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. "Pangasius sales dipped 40.7 percent to 690 million U.S. dollars and shrimp shipments dropped 34.4 percent to 1.22 billion U.S. dollars from a year before."
Vietnam's seafood exporters began to feel the brunt of the global economic slowdown in last September as high inflation in major markets has led to reduced consumption and lower prices, said market analyst Nguyen Thi Thanh Hang at VNDirect Securities.
Flagging sales were reflected in the results of top seafood companies in the country. Minh Phu, the country's top shrimp exporter, recorded a net loss of 97 billion Vietnamese dong (4.1 million U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of the year, the company revealed in its financial statement, adding that the last time it posted a loss was in the second quarter of 2016.
The country's top pangasius exporter, Vinh Hoan, saw a slump of 60 percent in its net profit in the first quarter to 219 billion Vietnamese dong (9.3 million U.S. dollars).
The devaluation of the euro and the Japanese yen has reduced purchasing power in these markets, while the U.S. market has been flooded by low-priced products from Ecuador and India, said Ho Quoc Luc, chairman of top shrimp company, Fimex (Sao Ta).
Vietnamese seafood exporters have not received what they expected to be a major boost from China thus far in 2023 as consumers are spending with caution on fears of global headwinds and uncertain economic outlook, said industry experts.
Seafood exports to China fell 37 percent in the January-April period to 435 million dollars, said Le Hang, head of communications for the VASEP, adding that sales of pangasius have yet recorded recovery in China due to falling prices and reduced demand.
Shipments of shrimp and pangasius to China in the first four months fell 30 percent and 68 percent, respectively, from a year ago, VASEP data showed. ■
