Vietnam’s cuttlefish, octopus export to grow this year

The Dollar Business Bureau

Vietnam’s cuttlefish and octopus exports are slated to grow by 4% to reach $470 million in 2017, the Việt Nam Association of Seafood Producers and Exporters (VASEP) said.

According to Trương Đình Hòe, general secretary, VASEP , Vietnam’s cuttlefish and octopus exports in 2016 stood at $440 million, registering an annual  growth of 3%.

The outbound shipments of frozen cuttlefish contributed 34%, while exports of octopus contributed 32% of the country’s total exports. The remaining 34% shares were made up by processed and dried products.

Last year, South Korea, Japan and the European Union (EU) remained the largest import markets for Vietnam’s cuttlefish and octopus exports.

There was a significant rebound in the overall demand in Japan and other major markets. However, the demand in one of the Vietnam’s major fish markets, South Korea, accounting for 38% of total octopus and cuttlefish exports, slumped strongly.

The other major factor that has emerged as a major hindrance to Vietnam’s mollusc exporters has been the unavailability of raw materials, thereby making them dependent on imports. The scarcity of raw material is projected to continue strongly during this year's first quarter.

The global demand for mollusc, however, is not expected to be high this year, but major export countries will be competing hard to gain a global market share.

“VASEP forecast cuttlefish and octopus exports just slightly higher than four per cent this year,” Hòe said. The exports during the first quarter were projected to touch $80 million, a decrease of 1.93% year-on-year.

The exports to Japan and South Korea may fall marginally during the first quarter, while exports to EU will rise slightly.