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Tuna imports to US have risen in value but fallen in volume. (Photo: FDA)
US imports more Vietnamese seafood
VIET NAM
Friday, August 03, 2012, 22:50 (GMT + 9)
The US has imported USD 515.8 million worth of Vietnamese seafood as of mid-June 2012 -- up 14.5 per cent year-on-year. Tuna sales to the US made up nearly 45 per cent of the total nationwide tuna export value.
Economists believe H2 will bring better sales, as US consumers tend to increase their spending during that period.
From January-April, the US imported 79,600 tonnes of tuna from 49 countries and territories, worth USD 451.7 million -- down 15 per cent in volume but up 12 per cent in value. There were four fewer tuna suppliers, according to statistics from the Global Agricultural Trade System (GATS).
Thailand is the main tuna exporter to the US, at 30,000 tonnes worth USD 149 million, down 33 per cent in volume and 6 per cent in value versus the same period of 2011 and constituting 33 per cent of the total tuna import value into the US.
The average export price was at USD 5.04 per kg, up 40 per cent from 2011.
Last year, Vietnam ranked fourth in tuna export value to the US with USD 115.2 million, but ranked third in volume after Thailand and the Philippines with 22,800 tonnes. For January-April 2012, Vietnam has beat Indonesia in both tuna export volume and value and taken the third position; the average price jumped by 22.6 per cent year-on-year.
Tuna import volume to the US has plummeted, mostly due to a shortage of raw tuna, climbing input costs for tuna production and exporting and higher raw tuna prices.
Thailand’s tuna exports to the US dropped by 33 per cent in volume and 6 per cent in value and Indonesian tuna exports sank by 37 per cent in volume and 19 per cent in value.
Tuna exports from the Philippines, Vietnam, Trinidad and Tobago to the US fell by 18 per cent, 16 per cent and 84 per cent, respectively, versus 2011.
Due to high tariffs since February 2012, the US has slashed imports of Ecuadorian tuna.
“It is likely high time for Vietnam tuna exporters to seize the opportunities with an aim to raise export value to the US which is expected to perform well in the last months of the year,” said the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
Related article:
- Tuna exports rise in Q1
By Natalia Real
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com
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