Processing tuna for export at Binh Dinh Seafood Joint Stock Company. Photo: T.H

During his official visit to the UAE, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and senior UAE leaders witnessed the signing of the Vietnam-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Vietnam and the UAE. According to information from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), the CEPA was signed after just over a year of negotiations. The UAE market is seeing a high demand for premium and high-end seafood, especially shrimp and fish products. Therefore, the Vietnamese tuna industry is expected to grasp more opportunities to increase exports and increase product value thanks to incentives from the CEPA. Ms. Cao Thi Kim Lan, Director of Binh Dinh Seafood Joint Stock Company, one of the large- scale tuna exporting enterprises said that in the past time, the company's tuna exports to the EU were affected, so the company has diversified its markets, shifting exports to Halal markets. The signing of CEPA opens up opportunity for exporting enterprises, including the Vietnamese tuna industry. Currently, our products have met the standards and are granted Halal certification and food hygiene and safety certification. We are promoting export to the Middle East market, especially the United Arab Emirates" - Ms. Lan shared. According to statistics from Vietnam Customs, the value of Vietnam's tuna exports to the UAE after declining in 2020 due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has grown continuously in the following years. The value of tuna exports to this market increased from 1.6 million USD in 2019 to nearly 4 million USD in 2023, an increase of 139% in 5 years. Vietnam is currently one of the three largest tuna suppliers to this market. Entering 2024, tuna exports to this market are unstable, increasing and decreasing erratically. By the end of September 2024, tuna export volume to the UAE was only almost equivalent to the same period in 2023. The UAE is mainly importing frozen tuna meat/loin products from Vietnam with code HS0304. In addition, this market also imports a small amount of canned tuna from Vietnam. According to VASEP, tuna products imported into the UAE are subject to a 5% tax rate. Businesses expect this market to be more open if the FTA between Vietnam and the UAE comes into effect, reducing the import tax on seafood to 0%. This will consolidate the competitiveness of Vietnamese tuna products in this market. According to Ms. Nguyen Ha, Tuna Market Expert of VASEP, besides tariffs, exporters to the UAE have to come up with strict requirements of importers related to Halal certification. Accordingly, the product must not contain any ingredients prohibited by Islamic law; the product must not contact with any means or equipment made from materials not permitted by Islamic law, throughout the production process; and during the process, the product must not access to any nutritious food made from ingredients not accepted by Islamic law. Currently, the UAE is the leading economy in the Arab countries and ranks 17th out of 61 highly competitive economies in the world, the average seafood consumption per capita is higher than the world average, the agricultural economic structure accounts for less than 1%, so up to 90% of the country's seafood consumption comes from imports. Moreover, the economy of this Middle Eastern country is considered the most stable in the world. With these factors, the UAE is suitable to become one of the important trading partners of the Vietnamese tuna industry. Businesses are waiting for the "golden" opportunity to increase their export market share to this potential market.