Fishermen transport tuna in the city of Da Nang, central Vietnam. Photo by VnExpress/Van Dong
China’s ban on Japanese seafood due to fears of radioactive contamination has allowed Vietnamese companies to see opportunities to ship more product, but the gain has been marginal as Chinese demand decreases.
On August 24, China imposed a total ban on Japanese seafood products after the latter began discharging treated radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant into its seawater.
Hong Kong and Macao also announced their own bans, which cover Japanese seafood imports from 10 regions.
The CEO of a Vietnamese seafood exporter from Nha Trang in the central region said the ban could help boost exports of certain products, such as tuna.
“We have seen Chinese buyers increase their tuna orders by 15% year-on-year. But demand for shrimp and octopus is still 20% lower year-on-year. »
Other industry players also said the ban could provide opportunities for Vietnamese seafood, but only slightly, as Japan is only a small seafood exporter to China.
Japan accounted for about 3% of Chinese seafood imports last year, compared with 18.6% for Ecuador, 14.4% for Russia and 8.8% for Vietnam.
Pangasius, one of Vietnam’s top seafood exports, has not seen a notable increase in Chinese shipments amid weak demand, according to a report by SSI Research.
“Pangasius exports to China increased slightly last week, but this was not significant and unrelated to the ban,” the report said.
Vietnam’s seafood industry faced a difficult year as demand from major markets such as the US, EU and China plunged amid rising inflation and economic challenges.
Exports of pangasius to China fell 32% year on year to $325 million, and those of shrimp fell 9% to $338 million, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) .
VASEP Secretary General Truong Dinh Hoe said Vietnamese exporters would not benefit significantly from the ban.