Vietnam will not see high year-end growth in exports of tra fish and shrimp to US this year because trade barriers have reduced their value, according to the national seafood association (Photo: VNA)
HCM City (VNA) –
Vietnam will not see high year-end growth in exports of tra fish and shrimp to
US by this year because trade barriers have reduced their value, according to
the national seafood association.
Meanwhile, exports of these
seafood products to Japan, China, Brazil and the ASEAN bloc have increased
significantly in the first eight months of the year, according to the Vietnam
Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
In the first eight months
of this year, the value of Vietnam’s shrimp exports to the US was nearly 416
million USD, down 4.4 percent over the same period in 2016. The US has dropped
from being the largest export market for Vietnamese shrimp in 2006 to fourth
place now.
According to the
association the reduction was mainly due to the impact of the US Department of
Commerce (DOC) increasing antidumping duties in the preliminary determination
of the 11th administrative review (POR11) for Vietnam’s shrimp on the US
market.
In addition, strong
competition from India – the main competitor for Vietnamese shrimp in the US
market, has contributed to the current situation.
Therefore, while demand for
shrimp in the US market usually increases by the year-end because it is a
holiday season, a corresponding increase in Vietnam’s shrimp exports to this
market is unlikely.
[US raises anti-dumping duties on Vietnam’s frozen catfish fillets]
A similar situation applies
to tra fish. Because of the catfish inspection programme that started in August
2017, Vietnam’s tra fish exports to the US reduced 58.5 percent month-on-month
to 18.44 million USD and 54.8 percent year-on-year. The Vinh Hoan Joint Stock
Company, one of Vietnam’s largest tra fish exporters to the US, saw a reduction
of about 50 percent in exports of the fish in August.
Moreover, in early
September, the DOC announced it would impose an anti-dumping duty of 2.39 USD per
kilogramme on frozen tra fish fillets which were imported from Vietnam between
August 1, 2015 and July 31, 2016, following its POR 13. The rate was
three times higher than the rate at POR12.
According to the local tra
fish businesses, this was an unfair decision that has hurt them. The high
antidumping duty and the catfish inspection programme will prevent local
businesses from promoting tra fish exports to the US market in the future.
The VASEP said that by the
end of this year, Vietnam’s tra fish exports to the US market would continue to
decrease.-VNA