As many as two dozen US seafood suppliers will get a chance to pitch their products and pursue other business relationships in Vietnam this fall thanks to a little funding help from the federal government.
The US Department of Agriculture’s Market Access Program (MAP) has agreed to provide $196,000 to Food Exports USA-Northeast, the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) and four other organizations to cover the cost of a trade mission this year to Ho Chin Minh City, promote products to Singapore and Thailand, and also for other trade-related activities.
The exact number of seafood companies that will be invited to participate and visit with prospective buyers is not yet known, but it could be potentially as many as 24, Colleen Coyne, Food Export Northeast’s seafood program coordinator, told Undercurrent News at the recent Seafood Global Expo in Brussels, Belgium.
US seafood exports to Vietnam, as it stands, travel on a tiny road when compared to the massive highway of fish coming to the US from Vietnam.
In 2017, the US sent 20,000 metric tons of seafood to Vietnam worth $135 million, while receiving back 229,106t worth $1.4 billion. The most popular US exports to Vietnam included lobster ($38m), squid ($25m) and geoduck ($14m), according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data.
But Coyne said the six partner organizations sought USDA's help to export more to Vietnam "based on a shared belief that good opportunities exist for increasing the amounts and variety of USA seafood that can be sold" there and "also because opportunities may exist to create processing partnerships between Vietnam and the USA for some seafood products".
More specifics about the upcoming Vietnam trade mission and other activities will be announced soon, Coyne told Undercurrent, though she said the trip can be expected to take place immediately after Seafood Expo Asia, in Hong Kong, Sept. 4-6. The participating organizations likely will be entitled to pick four companies each to join them on the trip, a selection process that is expected to begin in the next few weeks, she said.
Also involved are: Food Export – Midwest; the Intertribal Agriculture Council; the Southern United States Trade Association; and the Western United States Trade Association.
To secure a spot, seafood companies should contact the above organizations that best match their region or interests, Coyne said.
Singapore and Thailand trip credited with $2m in sales
The funding, which comes as part of MAP’s Global Broad-Based Initiative, follows up on the first-ever USA-wide seafood trade mission in 2017. As part of that earlier trip, to Singapore and Thailand, 17 US seafood suppliers from multiple states, including Alaska, Florida and Maine, met one-on-one 350 times with buyers. They attended market briefings, visited fresh food and retail markets, and participated in seafood processing tours.
Presentations were given to chefs, buyers and importers, covering the variety, quality and sustainability of the US products.
In Singapore, buyers from Malaysia and Indonesia were invited to attend, while buyers from Vietnam and the Philippines joined an event in Bangkok, Thailand.
Besides enhancing the US seafood companies' understanding about consumption patterns for seafood, regional preferences, and opportunities for seafood exporters, the Singapore and Thailand trip is credited with helping to sell nearly $2m worth of products. That included North American lobster, black cod, salmon, oysters and Dungeness crab.
The US suppliers made 306 new buyer contacts and project making another $5.5m in sales in the future as a result, the groups reported.
A similar approach can be expected during the Vietnam trip, Coyne said. There will be a market briefing, retail and plant tours, and one-on-one meetings with buyers from Vietnam and surrounding countries.
In addition to the Vietnam trip, the money recently provided by USDA will be used to pay in-country representatives to conduct trade servicing activities, providing market intelligence and followup communications with the local trade.
"Followup communications may include providing additional requested information about particular products, new (post activity) buyer requests for suppliers of particular products (trade leads), and post-mission followup to determine if new buyer awareness for USA seafood products is generating sales and/or what additional support activities may be necessary," she said.
USDA funds on the line in 2018 Farm Bill
If the group Food Export USA sounds familiar, that’s because Undercurrent recently wrote about the seafood speed dating event it organized in Boston, Massachusetts, as part of the Seafood Expo North America, in March, linking US suppliers with foreign buyers.
It was also one of the groups involved in an earlier multi-year effort aimed at China, where chef-training, buyer educational seminars and restaurant menu, retail, and e-commerce promotions were provided. That effort is credited for successfully expanding the sale of US seafood exports to China by nearly $12.5m.
The group's ability to lean on USDA MAP funds to help with seafood promotional activities is once again at stake as the US Congress considers yet another farm bill. The once every four- or five-year legislation addresses all US agricultural efforts, including a line item for MAP.
Coyne remains optimistic though, noting that “there is broad support for the MAP program within Congress”.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the ratio of Vietnamese seafood exports to the US in relation to US seafood exports to Vietnam. By volume, the US accepts 11 times what it sends to Vietnam and by sales it accepts 10 times.
Source: Under Current News
Key words: USDA, funds, major, seafood export, push into, Vietnam
