Vietnam’s shrimp and tuna exports to EU markets showed signs of recovery in July and August despite the impact of COVID-19, rising slightly against previous months and the same period last year.

Vietnam earned US$54.2 million from exporting shrimp to the EU in July, up 2 % year-on-year. Shrimp exports in August were estimated to increase 20% year-on-year.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), along with the fact that EU countries have gradually controlled COVID-19, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which took effect on August 1, has also had an impact on Vietnam’s exports to the market, including aquatic products.

The EU is Vietnam’s fourth-largest shrimp importer after the US, Japan, and China, and currently accounts for 13.3% of the country’s total shrimp export value.

With positive signs over the last two months, VASEP forecasts that Vietnam’s shrimp exports to the EU will continue to increase over the remainder of the year, though growth will be curtailed by the pandemic.

Tuna exports, meanwhile, have recovered faster than shrimp exports, rising 65% year-on-year in July.

Figures from customs agencies reveal that Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands were the largest importers of Vietnamese tuna products in the EU. In July alone, tuna exports to those markets grew an impressive 119%, 200%, and 210%, respectively.

Germany remains the largest import market in the EU for canned tuna from Vietnam, which account for 69% of its total imports.