Tuna exports face difficulties, Prime Minister gives "hot" instructions

The Government Office has Document No. 8640 conveying the direction of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on handling feedback information related to tuna export.

Specifically, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), Vietnam's tuna exports are slowing down as July's turnover decreased by 20% compared to the same period last year, bringing the cumulative 7-month turnover down to nearly 542 million USD, 3% lower than last year.

Also according to VASEP, from August 7, the US began to impose new reciprocal taxes on each country. The difference in tax rates applied to Vietnamese products compared to those of rival countries such as Thailand, Indonesia or Ecuador... is reducing the competitiveness of Vietnamese products.

In addition, geopolitical and logistics instability and demand fluctuations in some key markets such as Russia, Israel, Chile, etc. are also significantly affecting exports to these markets.

Meanwhile, the regulatory bottlenecks in Vietnam’s tuna fishing, processing and export activities have yet to be resolved. Tuna businesses are facing many difficulties and challenges. Therefore, the Association predicts that this year, Vietnamese tuna will find it difficult to break through and maintain its market share.

Regarding this matter, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh assigned the Acting Minister of Agriculture and Environment to study the information reported in the press; preside over and coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies to assess the tuna export situation in 2025, and promptly remove difficulties and obstacles according to authority and regulations.

Xuất khẩu cá ngừ gặp khó, Thủ tướng có chỉ đạo nóng - 1 — Khanh Hoa fishermen catch tuna (Photo: Trung Thi).

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien has also just sent a letter to US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick asking this agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to reconsider the decision to refuse to recognize the equivalence of 12 Vietnamese seafood exploitation occupations under the US Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).

According to exporters, the immediate economic damage after the US decision is huge. VASEP estimates that the seafood industry could lose about 500 million USD per year from the US market. This figure is equivalent to the total export value of affected items to the US in 2024 of 511.5 million USD.

Tuna, the largest export product, is at risk of losing its US market, which accounts for 387 million USD of the total export turnover of nearly 1 billion USD in 2024. Other important products such as crab, squid, grouper, mackerel, and swordfish will also suffer the same fate.

Not only are exporting businesses facing difficulties, this decision also directly impacts the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of fishermen and workers in processing plants. According to VASEP, the US ruling puts Vietnam at a “double disadvantage” when competitors such as Thailand, India, and Japan are recognized as equivalent and can easily enter the US market, while Vietnamese seafood is at risk of losing market share.

The industry depends on 75-80% of imported tuna raw materials, and now this supply is also being tightened, making it difficult for businesses to sell their own caught products and lacking legal raw materials for production. This "shock" not only threatens 500 million USD in export turnover but also affects the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of fishermen, workers and the position of Vietnamese seafood in the international market, according to VASEP.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/kinh-doanh/xuat-khau-ca-ngu-gap-kho-thu-tuong-co-chi-dao-nong-20250916110145528.htm