Challenges facing seafood exporters in Chinese market spotlighted
China is a promising market for Vietnamese seafood exporters despite difficulties and challenges, experts said at a recent conference in Ho Chi Minh City organised by the VASEP.
China is a promising market for Vietnamese seafood exporters despite difficulties and challenges, experts said at a recent conference in Ho Chi Minh City organised by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
In the last five years, Vietnamese “tra” fish export to China rose by an average of 21-31 percent each year.
However, Truong Thi Le Khanh, Director of Vinh Hoan Company – one of the tra fish exporters, asserted that China is not yet a stable market.
Despite growth in tra fish export, Vietnamese enterprises have yet to carefully study the market to control price and volume, she said.
Chinese regulations also confuse Vietnamese firms, added Khanh, citing the difficulty in rules on the phosphate proportion of imported tra fish as well as unfair tax policies between official trade and border trade.
According to VASEP, China is the fourth largest consumer of Vietnam’s aquatic products, accounting for 8 percent of Vietnam’s total export volume in 2014.
Particularly, the percentage of shrimp in the total seafood export volume to China rose to 70 percent in 2014 from only 13 percent in 2003. However, in the first six months of this year, the shrimp export turnover dropped 28 percent year on year, pulling Vietnam’s total seafood export to China down by 0.8 percent.
At the same time, tra fish exports to China increased by 50.7 percent year on year to reach 70 million USD.
As of July this year, Vietnam has 623 seafood facilities allowed to ship seafood to China.
Vice Director of the VASEP Centre for Training and Trade Promotion Le Hang said traders’ increased purchases of material seafood, especially shrimp, squid and octopus, to export to China over borders have resulted in shortages of enterprises’ materials for export, affecting contracts with partners.
The situation also caused an imbalance in export structure with higher export volumes of raw material while worsening the image of Vietnamese shrimp due to uncontrolled quality, she said.
Hang added that monetary and customs policies applied by China also affect Vietnamese exporter operations.
Representatives from a number of businesses held that the promotion of Vietnamese seafood in the Chinese market remained modest and noted the lack of a long-term market development strategy.
They proposed the Government should roll out measures to unite seafood exporters to form uniformed safety standards in production and export.-VNA
The value of Vietnam exports outpaced the GDP growth rate by threefold in the first six months of the year, up 15 percent over last year’s same period to 71 billion USD.
Experts advised shrimp farmers to produce high-quality products with competitive prices to weather the current declining exports during a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City on August 24.
Agro, fishery and forestry export turnover in the first 8 months of this year decreased by 4.8 percent over the same period last year to 19.31 billion USD.
The new Government decree also simplifies loan procedures while expanding credit incentives to include organic and circular agriculture, allowing them to access preferential terms similar to those of high-tech and value-chain based agricultural production.
Developed with state-of-the-art infrastructure, the Da Nang FTZ is designed to become a leading regional economic centre and a strategic growth pole in Vietnam’s new development landscape.
The Binh Duong Association of Supporting Industries (BASI) is expected to promote the usage of domestically manufactured components while supporting businesses in accessing international markets, strengthening linkages, and promoting deeper integration into global supply chains.
PwC Vietnam forecasts a vibrant M&A market in Vietnam’s healthcare sector in 2025, driven by rising demand for high-quality medical services and a growing middle class. Pharmaceutical companies, private hospitals, and specialised medical facilities, particularly in ophthalmology and oncology, are predicted to be key targets for M&A.
The central province of Quang Nam is set to become a hub for the medicinal plant industry, with Ngoc Linh ginseng designated as the core crop, under the Prime Minister's decision issued earlier this year.
The North-South Expressway project is scheduled for completion by 2030, aiming to establish the groundwork for Vietnam’s modern railway industry and stimulate regional economic development, positioning the country for a significant economic leap in the era of national rise.
The probe, initiated on June 11 following a petition by the US Coalition for Fair Trade in Hardwood Plywood, targets products classified under HS Code 4412 and 9403 imported from China, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Sun PhuQuoc Airways was born as a perfect piece in Sun Group’s strategic vision to build a premium ecosystem of tourism, entertainment, real estate, and aviation. With a pioneering ambition, Sun PhuQuoc Airways is not just an airline, but a symbol of connection – bringing the world to Phu Quoc and taking Phu Quoc to the world.
A key change in the draft decree is a provision requiring bank transfers for gold transactions valued at 20 million VND (765 USD) and above, to enhance transparency and verify customer identities.
In the first four months of 2025, trade turnover between Vietnam and Cambodia surpassed 3 billion USD, marking a 7% increase compared to the same period in 2024.
On June 19 alone, a total of 2,005 trucks completed customs clearance at Lang Son’s border gates — the highest single-day figure ever recorded in the province. Of these, 634 carried exports and 1,371 imports.
The OECD Economic Surveys: Vietnam 2025 report focuses on analysing the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals, the impact of international integration on attracting foreign investment and trade, and the country’s prospects for developing a low-carbon economy.
Antoine Colin, Senior Vice President for Global Supply Chain Digital Transformation & Resilience at HP Inc., affirmed HP’s strategic commitment to building a supply chain and ecosystem in Vietnam and the region.
Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)’s Trade Promotion Agency Bui Quang Hung emphasised that logistics has evolved from a technical function into a core capability for Vietnamese exporters to maintain their competitive advantage in the US market.
A trade official has suggested companies work closely with shipping lines, airlines, and freight forwarders to monitor routes, transit times, and potential surcharges while exploring broader cargo insurance to cover risks like war and terrorism.
In addition to institutional reform, the agency is also rolling out key solution groups to combat counterfeit goods, imitations, and intellectual property infringements in the digital environment.
The event, co-organised by the Vietnam Trade Office in the UK and TT Meridian, a local importer of Vietnamese fresh produce, aims to build a national lychee brand and encourage broader recognition of Vietnamese fruits in a competitive, high-end market.
The industry's performance has been powered by bold investments in modern production lines, enabling Vietnamese firms to produce complicated products which were exclusive to advanced economies.
Illustrative image (Source: VNA)
