HANOI: Vietnamese shrimp exports to the United Kingdom have registered a strong growth even as shrimp exports to the European Union have been registering a declining trend since early this year.
Shrimp import volumes in the United Kingdom have declined, but Vietnamese exporters have done well in that market, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
Statistics from Vietnam’s General Department of Customs show that shrimp exports to the United Kingdom reached 9.4 million USD in May, double the figure for the previous month.
In the first five months of this year, shrimp exports to the United Kingdom reached 36.2 million USD, up 50.9 percent year-on-year.
VASEP General Secretary Nguyen Hoai Nam said shrimp exports to Britain had increased due to a larger supply of shrimp and a lower price for the seafood on the world market.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese shrimp exports to the two key markets of Germany and the Netherlands fell 13 percent and 9 percent, respectively, in the first five months this year.
Britons’ seafood consumption is on the rise, thanks to health concerns. Consequently, warm-water shrimp and other new types of seafood are on offer in stores, together with traditional seafood such as cod, salmon, tuna and cold-water shrimp.
The association expects shrimp exports to the UK and other European markets to increase. However, the rate of increase is low due to the debt crisis in Greece.
