According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), as of February 15, Vietnamese shrimp exports to Australia reached more than USD 23 million, an increase of 48% over the same period in 2023. Australia is the 5th largest single market for Vietnam's shrimp imports, accounting for 7.5% of the total value of Vietnam's shrimp exports to other markets.

In 2023, shrimp exports to Australia is in a general downward trend, reaching USD 233 million, a decrease of 14% compared to the previous year. This decline is still lower than other main markets such as Japan, EU, Korea Republic, Canada, etc.

Over 5 years (2019-2022), Vietnamese shrimp exports to Australia gained constant growth from USD 127 million in 2019 to USD 272 million in 2022 with the share of Vietnam's total shrimp exports increasing from 3.7% in 2019 to 6.3% in 2022.

Whiteleg shrimp accounts for the largest proportion of Vietnam's shrimp product structure exported to Australia, accounting for 95%, black tiger shrimp accounts for a small proportion of 0.2%, and the rest are other types of shrimp, accounting for 4.8%.

Of the total shrimp products exported to Australia, value-added processed shrimp accounts for 40% of the total export value of shrimp products to this market. Processed shrimp products exported to this market mainly include shrimp dumplings, ginger-shrimp dumplings, frozen breaded white shrimp, and white-leg frozen shrimp skewers.

Although it is only the 5th largest shrimp consumption market in Vietnam, Australia is considered a potential market, especially when the demand for processed shrimp in this market is increasing. Meanwhile, the shrimp processing level of Vietnamese enterprises is constantly improving, with a variety of new products.

By focusing on promoting strengths, businesses will succeed in major consumer markets including Australia.

According to Mr. Le Van Quang, General Director of Minh Phu Seafood Group Joint Stock Company, shrimp processing and exporting enterprises are required to invest in more advanced technology to create more deep-processed, affordable, high value products to increase their presence in the global market.

According to Mr. Ho Quoc Luc, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sao Ta Food Joint Stock Company, thanks to the investment in modern technology, despite facing strong competitive pressure from cheap shrimp from Ecuador, India and Indonesia, Vietnamese shrimp is still very competitive, even accounting for the largest market share in the international market. Therefore, to maintain its export position and cope with the price difference of raw shrimp, the Vietnamese shrimp industry promotes its strengths in deep processing and diversifying deep-processed products to maintain market share.

Kylie Nguyen