HANOI, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam will likely see a decline in seafood exports with total exports forecast at 9 billion U.S. dollars this year, although market prospects are better than last year's end, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
This is, however, equivalent to a decline of 15-16 percent compared to 2022, local newspaper Vietnam News reported on Monday, citing the association.
Seafood exports in the first seven months of this year were estimated to reach nearly 5 billion dollars, down 25 percent year on year, according to VASEP.
In July alone, the value of seafood exports was estimated at 830 million dollars, down 11 percent year on year.
The most obvious recovery signal was in the Chinese market with a year-on-year increase of 45 percent in export value to 180 million dollars in July. Exports to other key markets in July plunged between 5 and 40 percent year on year, including the United States, South Korea and the European Union, the newspaper reported.
In a less optimistic scenario, Vietnam's seafood products still struggle to compete in terms of price and supply with those of other countries such as Ecuador, India, Indonesia, and Thailand.
With this scenario, the value of exports is estimated to reach about 3.5 to 3.7 billion dollars in the remaining five months of the year, and 8.5 to 8.7 billion dollars for the whole year of 2023, the newspaper reported. ■