Lobster exports to China increased 27 times

Latest information on the bottleneck of lobster exports to China China accounts for 99% of Vietnam's lobster export market

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, in the first two months of 2024, seafood exports increased by 13% over the same period last year, mainly due to a breakthrough increase of 64% in January. Many major products had positive growth in the past two months, of which white-leg shrimp increased by 18%, tuna increased by 21%, pangasius increased by 6.5%, and tiger shrimp increased by 9%. Notably, lobster exports skyrocketed more than 18 times over the same period last year.

By the end of February 2024, lobster exports reached nearly 30 million USD, an increase of 1,746% compared to 1.6 million USD in the same period last year. Of which, green lobster exports (rock lobsters) accounted for more than 90% with 27.6 million USD, an increase of 80 times, followed by spiny lobsters reaching 2.15 million USD, an increase of 45 times compared to the same period.

China remains the largest import market for Vietnamese lobster products, with a value of nearly 29 million USD, 27 times higher than the same period last year. Since October 2023, China has stopped importing Vietnamese spiny lobsters due to regulations related to the country's Wildlife Protection Law.

To export spiny lobsters to China, businesses must prove that the shrimp seeds are not caught directly from the sea, clearly demonstrate the farming process, and do not use seeds exploited from nature, meaning the seeds must be of the F2 generation; the importer must have a license...

On January 20, 2024, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam led a working delegation of the Ministry to work with the People's Government of Guangdong Province (China) on trade cooperation for agricultural development.

In related working contents, the two sides also agreed to coordinate in handling difficulties in the import and export of sturgeon and lobster according to a special mechanism and will include it in the Protocol between the two countries. While waiting for the signing of the Protocol, China will consider and create a special mechanism for establishments to register to export lobsters to this country.

While waiting for this special mechanism, many lobster farmers have switched to raising green lobsters. The demand for green lobsters from China is still quite high, and farmers still export live green lobsters to this market, while only a small part of the lobsters are exported here in the form of frozen products.

In addition to China, Vietnam also exports green lobsters and spiny lobsters to Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, and crayfish to the US.

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