In 2023, canned tuna exports to Germany, the Netherlands and Italy all increased, especially exports to Italy rose by 456% compared to 2022.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), in 2023, canned tuna was among the biggest export groups to the EU market for the first time. Its export turnover accounted for more than 40% of the total export turnover to this market, estimated at about 71 million USD. This figure increased by 28% compared to 2022.

According to statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs, after a decline in the first month of 2023, canned tuna exports to the EU grew continuously in the following months, when preferential quotas under the Free Trade Agreement between the EU and Vietnam (EVFTA Agreement) was restarted.

Notably, there was a time when export turnover increased by three digits over the same period. Towards the end of the year, after preferential quotas were used up, canned tuna exports to this market slowed down and even decreased in some months.

Vietnamese tuna products have been exported to 22 countries in the EU. Among them, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy are the three largest import markets for Vietnamese canned tuna.

According to businesses, the EU increasing canned tuna imports from Vietnam is due to the high average import price of canned tuna products within the EU market, so EU countries tend to increase imports of this products from other markets.

In addition, the El Niño phenomenon causing drought in the Panama Canal at the end of 2023 hindered Ecuador’s tuna exports to the EU.

Communist Party of Vietnam Online Newspaper