Agriculture & Food

It was reported on July 1 that in May this year, Vietnam’s shrimp export value was US$457 million, a year-on-year increase of 31%. The cumulative export value in the first five months was US$1.9 billion, a year-on-year increase of 41%.

Vietnam’s shrimp exports to the U.S. slowed in May, while exports to China grew steadily. In the past few months, the United States has purchased large quantities of shrimp products from Vietnam, Indonesia, India and Ecuador, resulting in high inventories and reducing further demand in the US market, which has begun to reduce shrimp import trade since April.

High inflation in the United States, China's new crown epidemic prevention policy, the continuation of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, labor shortages and domestic supply chain difficulties have all affected the sales and consumption demand of shrimp products in the United States. The growth of Vietnamese shrimp exports to the U.S. in the coming months is not expected to be as strong as in the first few months of the year, and U.S. demand for imported shrimp is expected to pick up again strongly by September to meet demand for Thanksgiving and other year-end festivals.

Since March this year, Vietnam’s shrimp exports to China have been growing rapidly, hitting triple-digit growth in a row. From January to May this year, Vietnam’s shrimp export growth rate was between 126% and 140%, and exports to China in May reached US$88 million, an increase of 126% over May 2021. In the first five months of this year, Vietnam's shrimp exports to China reached US$275 million, an increase of 101% over the same period last year.

China is launching an economic stimulus plan to encourage consumption, which will boost the consumption of shrimp products in China. It is expected that Vietnamese shrimp exports to China will continue to accelerate in the coming months.

Compared with the overall trend of shrimp exports in May, Vietnam's shrimp exports to major markets in June are not expected to fluctuate much, depending on the availability of raw shrimp, unfavorable weather and the unusual first rain of the season It affects the production of farmed shrimp and adversely affects the source of raw shrimp. Therefore, it is very likely that raw shrimp will be in short supply in the next few months.