Vietnam’s tuna exports to the Middle East has reached US$57.5mn so far in 2021, up 15% over the same period in 2020
According to Vietnam’s Ministry of agriculture and rural development (MARD), Israel is Vietnams’s second-largest tuna importer after the US, accounting for 6% of the country’s total tuna value in the first 10 months of the year. Compared to the same period in 2020, tuna exports to this market rose by 39%.
In 2019, Vietnam’s tuna exports to Egypt increased and in 2020 exports to this market increased by 63%. The value of tuna exports to this market in the first 10 months of 2021 has decreased by 4% over the same period last year, reaching US$12mn, accounting for 20% of the total value of tuna exports to this market.
Along with Egypt, Vietnam’s tuna exports to Lebanon has also decreased slightly by 4% over the same period last year. The export value to this market reached nearly US$3.4mn, accounting for 6% of the total tuna export value to this market.
Vietnam records 28 enterprises exporting to the Middle East market in which Vietnam Tuna Company Limited (Tuna Vietnam), Tan Phat Canned Food Joint Stock Company and Binh Dinh Seafood Joint Stock Company (Bidifisco) account for nearly 60% of the total export value to this market.
MARD said despite slight setbacks in exports to Egypt and Lebanon, the country's tuna exports to the region reached new heights this year and records a total value increase of 15% over 2020. This is partly because of the contained pandemic situation and a stabilised commercial supply of canned tuna. The demand for tuna imports from the Middle East is expected to continue to grow well, especially in markets such as the UAE and Yemen.
