Việt Nam’s total seafood exports reached $7.55 billion in the first eight months, up 35.5 per cent on-year.  — VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY  — Seafood exports to the Russian market are set to bounce back in the remaining months to exceed US$190 million this year, up 16 per cent year-on-year, after months of disruption due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict since the end of February.

Seafood exports to the market reached more than US$94 million as of the end of August, down 20 per cent year-on-year due to the conflict, according to the Việt Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

Exports dropped by 86 per cent and 46 per cent in March and April, respectively, due to trade traffic disruption and difficult payment and banking risks, according to VASEP.

However, exports have recovered since May and witnessed a turnaround from July with a 36 per cent surge year-on-year, before jumping 98 per cent last month.

Lê Hằng, deputy director of VASEP.PRO Centre, said exports of catfish, the leading export to Russia and accounting for 22 per cent of total seafood exports to the market, were worth $21 million in the first eight months, down 12 per cent year-on-year.

While exports of most seafood products to Russia saw a decline due to disruptions in the early months of the year, exports of snapper, tuna, and anchovy to Russia managed to grow, including tuna exports soaring 97 per cent year-on-year in the first eight months to reach $16 million. 

Exports of snapper rose 6 per cent to reach $14.6 million, and export of anchovy jumped 27 per cent to $4.6 million.

In the first eight months, 39 Vietnamese firms exported seafood to Russia.

Major exporters include Nam Việt JSC holding at 13 per cent of exports, followed by Saigon Food Import Export JSC (12 per cent), Hải Vương Co Ltd (12 per cent), Anh Long Food Co Ltd (8 per cent), and Minh Phú Seafood Corporation (7 per cent), among others.

Dương Hoàng Minh, Việt Nam’s Trade Counselor in Russia, said exports of goods to Russia have been facilitated by freight transport. 

Russia’s transport group Fesco in May launched a direct maritime line connecting HCM City, Hải Phòng, and Vladivostock in Russia’s far east.

Several other shipping lines have launched new routes, speeding up transport to Russia. 

Việt Nam’s total seafood exports reached $7.55 billion in the first eight months, up 35.5 per cent on-year. —VNS