VASEP said domestic tuna exporters could expect positive prospects in thesecond half of this year.
The association said the stockpiled quantity of tuna in the US - one of themain markets of Vietnam has begun to decrease and importers were consideringspeeding up imports.
By the end of the year, major markets such as the US will have many festivals,so consumer demand will increase. Meanwhile, preferential tariffs are anadvantage that has pushed EU importers to seek orders from Vietnam.
Over the past seven months of this year, Vietnam's tuna exports reached nearly 445.6million USD, down 31% year-on-year, VASEP said.
While exports of high-value fresh, frozen and dried tuna products decreased 46%,shipments of processed and canned tuna goods saw a modest rise of 4% to over 204million USD, it said.
Besides, exports to the EU, Mexico, Israel and Thailand had recorded highgrowth over the same period of 2022.
The EU market showed signs of recovery, with a growth rate of 28% in June andJuly, earning Vietnam a turnover of 12 million USD per month. Notably, in thebloc, exports to the Netherlands also continuously grew remarkably while thatto Germany maintained an increase of 30% in June and July.
At the same time, Vietnamese tuna exports to Mexico and Chile also recordedsignificant hikes of 100% and 90%, respectively. Meanwhile, tuna shipments toThailand also soared 65% in the last two months.
According to Nguyen Ha, tuna market expert of VASEP, in the context thatexports to the main traditional markets had all declined, Israel had emerged asa potential market.
In the first half of this year, Vietnamese tuna exports to Israel hit nearly 25million USD, up 92% over the same period last year.
Frozen tuna meat and fillets still accounted for the highest proportion of 47%.The export value of this product group saw a yearly hike of 29%. Meanwhile, theexport turnover of canned tuna increased 375% and other processed tuna productssurged 83%.
Despite being a small country, with no natural resources and limited domesticlabour resources, Israel's consumer demand was quite large and solvency washigh, so there remained ample room for Vietnam's tuna exports to the market, Hasaid.
Especially, the Vietnam-Israel FTA (VIFTA), signed on July 25, would open upopportunities for Vietnam's seafood exports, including tuna, to access theIsraeli market and lucrative Middle East region, Ha said.
To penetrate the Israeli market, VASEP Secretary General Truong Dinh Hoe suggestedthat tuna exporters ensure product quality, carefully study market information,promote credibility and be responsible.
He vowed that VASEP would accompany, research carefully and disseminate marketinformation to businesses.
To facilitate tuna exports, businesses petitioned the Ministry of Agricultureand Rural Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to grant morequotas for imported raw tuna as domestic tuna raw material could meet only 25%of demand for processing and export, the Binh Dinh Fishery JSC Co suggested./.