Shrimp exports spinning in downward spiral Shrimp exports in the 10 months leading up to November went into a tailspin sinking 26.7% year-on-year to US$2.5 billion on the back of weak demand, low export prices and fierce competition. Statistics from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters & Producers (VASEP) show the most significant drops were experienced in the key markets of the US, Japan and EU. Meanwhile VASEP reported sales to the UK, Hong Kong and Malaysia made modest gains of 11.1%, 3% and 17.8%, respectively. Vietnam principally exports frozen shrimp. White leg shrimp, the key export, accounted for 58.6% of the total with sales reaching US$1.4 billion, which represented a decline of 26.4% compared to last year’s same period. Black tiger shrimp exports made up 33% of the total, hitting US$813.3 million. Overall sales from these products dropped 31.3% compared to the corresponding period last year. Vietnam also exported marine shrimp, which was principally exported in processed form. The US remained the top market with purchases of frozen shrimp accounting for a 21.8% market share from January to October, down from 27% for the same ten month period last year. During the January-October period, the US imported a grand total of 416,311 metric tons from all countries around the globe valued at US$3.9 billion, representing an increase of 2% in volume but an 18% drop in combined value. Meanwhile, for the 10 month period exports to Japan, the second largest shrimp consumption market, reached US$486.7 million, representing a 20.8% drop year-on-year, mainly attributable to the devaluation of the yen. Exports to the EU for the period sank 19.7% year-on-year to US$466.5 million. The UK was the only market among the top three markets in the bloc reporting growth, which was 11.1% year-on-year. VASEP said this was the result of a jump in the import of warm water shrimp. Vietnam shrimp sales to Germany and the Netherlands meanwhile tumbled 18% and 30.2%, respectively. For the month of October alone, shrimp exports touched US$327 million, representing a 7.3% month-on-month growth but still a hefty 21.7% decline from last year’s corresponding period. Despite the seemingly not so buoyant news, VASEP expressed positive expectations for the market in the coming months— holding out for year-end holiday seasons around the globe to turn things around. VOV