Since 2007, the European Union has passed Japan to become the largest importer of Vietnamese seafood. In 2011, the EU took the lead in seafood importing from Vietnam with 21.8% of the market share, followed by the US with 19.3% and Japan with 16.4%. In the first three months of 2012, exports reached over $1.3 billion, with the EU was still the top market at $260 million, but that was a 7.9% decline from the same period of 2011.
Vietnam supplies a variety of seafood products to the EU, of which pangasius is the main item. Pangasius export volume was stable, but the prices tended to be increasingly low. In contrast, shrimp exports to the EU showed a positive sign in two recent years and ares expected to rocket in coming years. In 2011, shrimp exports to the EU were up 20.3% over 2010, bringing Vietnam to fifth largest shrimp exporters to the EU with the growth of in market share from 6.1% in 2010 to 7.5% in 2011.
Pangasius has an advantage of becoming more and more popular with EU consumers. Boosting pangasius exports to the EU will bring mutual benefit, according to Struan Stevenson, senior vice president of the European Parliament Fisheries Committee. In 2011 alone, Vietnam delivered 600,000 tons of pangasius to the EU, and average annual growth was 30%. Vietnam seafood has succeeded in getting a foothold in EU market, Stevenson said.
Despite the European debt crisis, food industries in the region are standing firm. ESE attracted over 1,600 seafood companies from 80 countries all over the world which were decorated impressively in the area of 34,000 square meters. At 2012 ESE, Vietnam enterprises have nearly 40 booths with nice and professional decoration and they are among the largest booths in
the Exposition.
