The demand for tuna in foreign markets amid the strong rise in prices of other foodstuff is predicted to lead to a surge in tuna export volume and value of Vietnam, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

The association reported that in the first six months of this year, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) countries, the third largest market of Vietnamese tuna after the US and Europe, imported 68 million USD worth of the fish from Vietnam, a 50% rise over the same period last year.

In addition, VASEP said the US Department of Agriculture has announced that the US faced the highest inflation in the past 40 years, with foodstuff prices increasing by 19% compared to the average level in the past 10 years, including that of chicken, a popular cheap protein source in the US.

Meanwhile, the price of chicken and poultry meat in the US is forecast to continue to increase from 15% to 18% in 2022. VASEP held that when the prices of cheap protein foodstuff increase, tuna could be a good alternative of US consumers. Therefore, the association held that Vietnamese tuna is enjoying more opportunities in such markets.

This year, tuna export turnover is expected to reach about 1.1 billion USD, up 45% from the previous year, considering a 56% growth in the first six months of the year.

Tuna export turnover in June reached 90 million USD, a year-on-year increase of 41%, bringing the value for the first half of the year to 553 million USD, a year-on-year rise of 56%.

Regarding markets, VASEP said that good growth was seen in most major markets except the EU, Israel and Egypt. 

As of the end of June, tuna export value to the US totalled more than 300 million USD, up 96% over the same period last year.

Besides the three major export markets, tuna exports to Saudi Arabia, Thailand, the Philippines and Russia also increased.

VASEP forecasts that tuna exports in the second half of the year will continue to grow well, but at a slower rate./.