CTPPP has a very clear impact on seafood export in Vietnam. (Photo courtesy of VASEP)Le Hang, Communications Director of the Vietnam Associationof Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), told local media CPTPPhad a very clear impact on seafood export as importersfrom CPTPP accounted for 25% of the total export turnover of Vietnam.
She added now that Malaysia has ratified the CPTPP on October 5,products would enjoy preferential tax rates under the agreementfrom November 29.
Hang said that up to now, the market share of Vietnamese seafood insome markets in the CPTPP has changed, especially those in Latin America.
She said: "Before the CPTPP Agreement, Canada accounted for 2.7% ofVietnam’s total seafood export value. Up to this point, Canada has accountedfor 3.7%. Mexico's share has increased from 1% to 1.3%, and Australia's sharein the CPTPP has also increased from 2.7% to 3.2%.
Canadian demand for seafood imports was very high, and it alsoput its trust in the Vietnamese market because it was a stableeconomy and a good environment for trade, said VASEP, adding the Mexicanmarket in South America was now Vietnam’s number three pangasiusimport market, after China and the US.
Hang told the media: "Amid currency fluctuations, Mexico's currencyis relatively stable. Economic fluctuations have less impact on this marketthan on other markets. Therefore, this is a potential Vietnamese seafood marketnot only now but also in the coming years."
Besides the potential and advantages, the CPTPP also poses many challenges forseafood enterprises, regarding technical barriers or quality standards, interms of rules of origin.
"The real difficulty in the CPTPP is provisions related to labour,environment and sustainable development, such as labour, how to avoid childlabour violations in fisheries and how to remove IUU yellow card. TheCPTPP partner, Japan, also began to apply rules of origin to some fisheryspecies, which other markets may later follow. Therefore, businesses must payattention and make appropriate adjustments to meet the requirements ofsustainable development in the CPTPP," noted Hang.
Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, Director of the Center for WTO andIntegration of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI),emphasised that the CPTPP was the first high-standard new generationFTA that Vietnam had implemented with a degree of freedom, adding: "Thelevel of member countries in the CPTPP committed to opening the goods marketfor each other is the highest among the previous agreements."
The CPTPP helps Vietnam’s goods explore the American market, Trang said,explaining: "With the CPTPP, Vietnam has a great advantage to exploit forexports to the Americas compared to many Asian countries that do not have FTAswith countries in this region."
Trang also said, however, the CPTPP's countriescontinued to negotiate FTAs with ASEAN. For example, shortly, theCanada-ASEAN FTA will be restarted. Thus, in the future, Vietnamese goods willno longer have a unique advantage. Not to mention, some countries are alsoplanning to join the CPTPP."
"The FTA advantage is still one of Vietnam’s advantages in the NorthAmerican market, but it won't last too long. Therefore, Vietnamese businessesmust quickly use the CPTPP most optimally," said Trang.
Experts said optimising advantages created by free trade agreements(FTAs) helped many local seafood enterprises turn challenges into opportunities.As a result, the sector is predicted to make up 3% of the country's totaloverseas shipments in 2022.
According to VASEP, Vietnam is currently the world's third largestexporter of fishery products, after China and Norway. With the obtainedresults, its seafood exports are expected to hold an over 7% share inthe global market.
This year, Vietnam is expected to reach 10 billion USD by November, a recordmilestone for Vietnam’s seafood industry after more than 20 years of participatingin the world market. By the year's end, it is forecast to reach nearly 11billion USD, up 25% compared to 2021./.
VNA
