Vietnam’s shrimp exports to China expected to increase sharply

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), China is one of the largest shrimp consuming markets in the world with huge food service channels.

China's shrimp imports increased from $1.4 billion in 2018 to $3.7 billion in 2021. In 2021, China's imports of frozen warm-water shrimp increased 12 per cent to 611,000 tons. Vietnam is the fourth largest shrimp supplier to this market after Ecuador, India and Thailand.

In 2022, China's shrimp imports are forecasted to increase sharply, especially when a large shrimp supplier, Ecuador, is planning to regain market share in the Chinese market after being reduced in 2020 and 2021 due to coronavirus being found on the packaging of the products exported from the country.

In five years, Vietnam's shrimp exports to China increased from $436 million in 2016 to $526 million in 2020, the average growth rate reached 9 per cent per year.

However, in 2021, Vietnam’s shrimp exports to China dropped sharply to only $412.4 million, down 22 per cent compared to 2020 because China tightly controlled imports before the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

China suspended imports from many companies in India, Ecuador and some Asian countries, and moved to promote domestic seafood consumption instead of imports. Moreover, they pursue the "zero Covid" policy, which regulates the strict control of the COVID-19 pandemic at China's import ports by air, sea and border. The move created many difficulties for shrimp exports of Vietnam.

This year, from the beginning of the year to mid-February, Vietnam's shrimp exports to China reached nearly $23 million, down 7.4 per cent over the same period last year. Although exports are still falling, the rate of decline is lower than that of last year.

According to VASEP, Vietnam's shrimp exports to China this year are expected to recover when China begins to relax strict import control measures.