Tra fish being procesed for exports (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Following the outbreak of theacute respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) earlier thisyear, Chinese consumers may change their eating habits, and shift tointensively processed products, especially seafood, according to marketwatchers.
Therefore, domestic seafood exporters should keep a closewatch on the market development to adjust their plans, they said, addingexporters should also diversify export markets and boost domestic consumption.
Seafood exporters are feeling the pinch from the sharp declinein their shipments to China as the epidemic is limiting border trade and sappingdemand in the world’s second-largest economy, according to insiders.
The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said theclosure of border gates due to the COVID-19 outbreak could reduce at least 20percent of Vietnamese seafood exports to China in the first quarter of 2020, asshipments through border gates are accounting for 20 percent of the totalseafood exports to the neighbouring nation.
Massive shutdown of restaurants and food retail chains in China has led to acontraction in Chinese demand for seafood. Meanwhile, trade exchange betweenVietnam and China has been hampered by disappointing transportation system,cancellation of orders, and stagnant production due to a shortage of workers.
VASEP forecast that if the epidemic ends in the first quarter, seafoodshipments to China during January-March will fall at least 40 percent to 265million USD as compared to the previous quarter. Exports are believed to revivein the following quarters, making total shipments to China surge 5 percent to1.5 billion USD for the whole year.
In a worse scenario, seafood production and export activities will be impacteduntil August. In this case, exports to China are likely to dwindle 30 percentto 400 million USD in the first half while the amount during July-Decemberwould surge 10 percent to 930 million USD. With the results, the total seafoodexports to China are estimated to taper off 6 percent to around 1.33 billionUSD./.
VNA
