Seafood exporters floundering due to COVID-19

HÀ NỘI — A survey by the Việt Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (Vasep) found that the novel coronavirus (COVID- 一 九) pandemic was hitting seafood companies hard, especially since the beginning of March.

Vasep said that most seafood companies saw declines of  三 五- 五0 per cent in orders due to cancellations, delays or shortages of raw materials.

Many companies felt that the impact of COVID- 一 九 would become more serious as the pandemic has spread more rapidly since the start of the month.

According to Vasep, exports of tra fish to China have stalled since January and exports to European Union (EU) markets were also encountering difficulties in March as the bloc closed its external borders. Demand was also dropping as people stayed at home to prevent the spread of the pandemic.

In mid-March, exports to the Middle East, Asia and South Africa also started to struggle.

Vasep said most seafood companies were suffering shortages of raw materials.

Around  三 五- 五0 per cent of orders for shrimp to the US and EU were delayed or cancelled due to low demand for consumption. Still, shrimp exports saw slight increases of  二. 六 per cent to $ 三 八 三 million, mainly thanks to the increase of  一 六 per cent in exports to Japan while exports to China fell by  三 七 per cent and to EU by  一 五 per cent.

Seafood producers and exporters both faced high inventories, Vasep said.

Statistics from the General Department of Customs showed that seafood exports totalled more than US$ 九 九0 million in the first two months of this year, a drop of  一 一 per cent against the same period of  二0 一 九.

Exports to China fell by  四 四 per cent, EU by  二0 per cent, ASEAN markets by  四 per cent and the Republic of Korea by  九 per cent.

Vasep said that seafood exports to China in the first quarter of this year would see a drop of at least  二0 per cent due to low demand in China and interrupted transportation via border gates due to the pandemic.

Tra fish exports would suffer the most as China was the largest market for Việt Nam’s tra fish, accounting for  三 五 per cent. Tra fish exports to China dropped by  五 二 per cent in the first two months and to the EU by  四0 per cent.

Several tra fish companies expected exports to China to recover from next month and return to normal from June.

Vasep urged producers to focus on improving the quality of tra fish to promote exports to the US from next year. — VNS