The EU is the world's leading seafood consumption and import market, but Vietnam's market share in this region is only a modest proportion, with huge room for development.

Vietnam has a great advantage fromthe Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the EU (EVFTA)with the EU committing to strongly open the door for Vietnamese seafood by eliminating about 50% of tax lines as soon as the Agreement comes into effect, in which most of the high tax products from 6 - 22% will be eliminated to 0% such as oysters, scallops, squid, octopus, clams, mussels, frozen tiger prawns...; The remaining 50% of tax lines, with base tax rates from 5.5-26%, will be reduced to 0% according to a roadmap of 3-7 years.

In particular, import tax on most raw shrimp (fresh, frozen, chilled) imported into the EU will be reduced from the basic tax rate of 12-20% to 0% as soon as the Agreement comes into effect. Meanwhile, major competitors such as Thailand do not enjoy GSP, do not have FTA so have a basic tax rate of 12%; India does not have FTA so has a GSP tax of 4.2%; Indonesia has a GSP tax of 4.2% and Ecuador still has a basic tax rate of 12%.

Thus, EVFTA has created a huge price advantage for Vietnamese seafood, especially in exporting similar products to competitors in the EU market.

Statistics show that seafood products that enjoyed incentives right after the EVFTA took effect have shown positive export growth results.

At the same time, EVFTA also strongly promotes attracting direct investment from the EU and technology transfer, especially deep processing technology, contributing to increasing the added value and quality of Vietnamese seafood, meeting international regulations and quality standards.

In addition, the EU also flexibly applies the extended cumulative tariff on processed squid and octopus products from Vietnam to ASEAN countries. Accordingly, raw materials for the production of processed squid and octopus are allowed to be imported from ASEAN to produce goods for export to the EU and enjoy preferential tax rates under the EVFTA. This is a good opportunity to attract ASEAN investors to invest in Vietnamese seafood processing factories to take advantage of the regional supply chain and benefit from the Agreement.

According to statistics from the International Trade Center (ITC), Vietnam is the 5th largest supplier of seafood outside the bloc to the EU in the period of 2017 - 2022 (the 2nd largest supplier from Asia, after China) and accounts for 3.7% of the total seafood imports of the EU. During this period, although Vietnam's seafood export turnover to the EU has recorded a growth rate in recent years, Vietnam's seafood market share is still low.

In 2023, due to the difficult market situation and sharp decline in demand, Vietnam's seafood exports to the EU also decreased quite sharply. From the beginning of 2024, Vietnam's seafood exports to this market have grown more positively; the turnover in the first half of 2024 reached 513 million USD, an increase of 12% over the same period last year. The reason is that the EU market tends to recover, market prices and consumption are more stable; it is forecasted that the demand for importing and consuming seafood products in the EU in the last months of the year may continue to increase.

Vietnam's seafood exports to the EU market in the period 2019 - 2024 (source: General Department of Customs; unit: USD)

Vietnam's seafood exports to EU member countries in the first 9 months of 2024 (source: General Department of Customs; unit: USD)

In particular, the structure of Vietnam's seafood exports to the EU in the coming time is expected to have many changes when Vietnamese seafood exporting enterprises actively promote the export of seafood products that enjoy incentives from the EVFTA Agreement while the partners also prioritize choosing seafood products from Vietnam due to more competitive prices and stable raw material sources. According to the VASEP Association, the EVFTA Agreement is expected to help seafood exports grow by about 2% in the period of 2020 - 2030.

Considering the structure of EU member markets, in addition to the main and traditional export markets such as the Netherlands, Germany, France, etc., Vietnam's seafood exports still have a lot of room and opportunities to exploit more effectively some potential markets and niche markets in the EU.

The Department of European - American Markets, Ministry of Industry and Trade in the "Handbook for exporting to the EU market, seafood products" forecasted opportunities for exporting Vietnamese seafood to some potential markets in the EU in the coming time.

Lithuania is currently ranked 79th among major economies and 36th among the richest countries with an annual GDP of approximately $23,723 per capita, equivalent to $66.45 billion. Lithuania spends approximately $650 million annually on importing seafood.

According to ITC statistics, in 2022, Lithuania's seafood imports reached 721.9 million USD, an increase of 15.4% compared to 2021, reaching the highest level compared to previous years, being the 12th largest seafood import market in the EU region, accounting for 1.2% of the total value of seafood imports of the EU. Vietnam is the 6th largest seafood supplier to Lithuania from outside the EU in 2022, accounting for 3.54% of the total value of seafood imports of the EU in 2022.

According to statistics from the General Department of Customs, after the EVFTA took effect in August 2020, Vietnam's seafood exports to Lithuania continued to increase, increasing by 42.97% in 2021 compared to 2020 to reach 23.6 million USD. In 2022, seafood exports to Lithuania reached 39.9 million USD, up 68.8% compared to 2021, accounting for 3.06% of the total value of Vietnam's seafood exports to the EU. Tuna, fish cakes and pangasius are the main seafood exports to the Lithuanian market and have many opportunities for growth in the coming time. In particular, Vietnamese seafood products meet the market's requirements for quality, traceability, etc.

Finland is the 13th largest seafood import market in the EU, spending more than 600 million USD annually on seafood imports.

According to ITC statistics, in 2022, Finland spent 678 million USD to import seafood, accounting for 1.14% of the total value of seafood imports of the EU. Of which, Vietnam is the 4th largest seafood supplier from outside the EU to Finland, accounting for 1.71% of the total value of seafood imports of Finland from outside the EU.

According to statistics from the General Department of Customs, Vietnam's seafood exports to this market after the EVFTA took effect are growing unsteadily, but there is quite a lot of room for boosting seafood exports to this market. Tuna, shrimp and pangasius are the three main seafood exports of Vietnam to the Finnish market.

Romania is the 11th largest seafood export market of Vietnam in the EU region in 2022, accounting for 1.87% of the total value of Vietnam's seafood exports to the EU.

According to ITC statistics, Romania spends more than 400 million USD annually to import seafood. In 2022, Romania spent 463 million USD to import seafood, accounting for 0.78% of the total value of seafood imports in the EU region, up 7.5% compared to 2021. Of which, imports from Vietnam reached 19.4 million USD, accounting for 4.19% of the total value of seafood imports in Romania. Notably, Vietnam is the second largest seafood supplier to Romania after Türkiye from outside the bloc.

According to statistics from the General Department of Customs, Vietnam's seafood exports to Romania have continuously increased sharply since the EVFTA took effect. Tuna, shrimp and pangasius are the three main seafood exports to this market.

This is a potential market and there is still a lot of room for Vietnam's strong seafood products. Besides, the opportunity to boost the export of fish cakes to this market still has a lot of potential.

Thuy Linh