January 7, 2021 www.seafoodnews.com
The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) reported a 50% jump in cephalopod exports to China through the first nine months of 2020. Overall, exports to China reached $30.9 million, over the same time period in 2019.
VASEP shared that after a large drop in the first quarter of 2019, exports reached over $13 million, up 43.8% from Q2 2019.
“Since March 2020, the COVID-19 epidemic in China has been less tense. Moreover, other suppliers to China have difficulty supplying goods to the Chinese market, so China has increased imports from Vietnam to compensate,” VASEP’s Kim Thu wrote.
Breaking down the species of cephalopod exports shows that squid made up 91.5% and octopus tallying 8.5%. The demand for squid in China was reported to increase, in particular dried/baked squid.
VASEP noted that imported processed squid and dried/baked to China from Vietnam rose by 121% and 146% year-on-year, respectively. Octopus imports also rose by 47%.