It is likely that China (including the Hong Kong market) will become the largest importer of Vietnam’s tra fish in 2017, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
As of October 2016, Vietnam has exported US$235.5 million worth of tra fish to China, representing a year-on-year increase of 76%, VASEP said, adding that the country’s export value of tra fish to the Chinese market has been constantly growing over the last two years.
From being the third-largest importer of Vietnam’s tra fish in the first half of 2016 with a market share of 14.8% (behind the United States with 23.7% and the European Union with 16.8%), China surpassed the EU to become the Southeast Asian nation’s second-largest tra fish exporting market three months later.
As assessed by the Vietnam trade promotion office in Chongqing, China has a strong demand for imports of Vietnam’s tra fish owing to its reasonable prices. The majority of Vietnam’s tra fish exports to China are used to make food at restaurants, hotels and even for flights.
The US market has been growing as the largest importer of Vietnam’s tra fish since the beginning of the year. However, in the future, the US Department of Agriculture’s catfish inspection programme and its high antidumping tax on Vietnamese catfish are expected to pose barriers to exports of Vietnam’s tra fish to the US.
VASEP predicted that tra fish exports to the US will face difficulties in 2017 and their export value will no longer grow as strongly as it has in 2016, which could make it possible for China to become Vietnam’s largest tra fish importer next year.
Source: Nhan Dan
Key words: China, might become, Vietnam’s largest, tra fish, importer, VASEP
