Vietnam’s seafood exports to Russia have sharply recovered after many months of interruptions due to the impacts of  the Russia-Ukraine conflict, surging 36% in July and 98% in August, according to  the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

In the first eight months of 2022, Vietnam’s aquatic exports to Russia fetched over 94 million USD, down 20% compared to the same period last year.

After the Russia-Ukraine conflict started in late February this year, Vietnam's seafood shipments to Russia in March and April decreased by 86% and 46%, respectively, due to transport and payment difficulties.

Supply chains for production and import-export were broken, forcing Vietnamese exporters to find ways to  export to other markets.

According to Le Hang, Deputy Director of VASEP’s Training and Trade Promotion Centre, tra fish was still the most exported item, accounting for 22% of seafood export turnover to the Russian market with total value of nearly 21 million USD.

While the turnover of most of seafood products shipped to Russia declined, the export of tuna, yellowtail, and anchovy to this market still maintained growth, enjoying increases of 97%, 6% and 27% to nearly 16 million USD, 14,6 million USD and 4.6 million USD, respectively.

Duong Hoang Minh, Commercial Counsellor of Vietnam in Russia, said transporting goods from Vietnam to Russia is now more convenient as a Russian shipping group has opened a direct route connecting Ho Chi Minh City and Hai Phong with Vladivostok, and a new rail route has been launched.

Experts said seafood exports to the Russian market will continue to recover in the final months of this year, expanding about 16% to 190 million USD in 2022 as forecast by VASEP./.