Workers process shrimps for export at a factory in Ninh Thuan province (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The CPTPP will create a good chance forVietnamese shrimp exporters to capitalise on the Canadian market, even thoughthe Southeast Asian nation is already the top shrimp supplier there.
Aquatic exports brought home 2.4 billion USD inthe first four months of 2019, equivalent to the figure during the same periodlast year. That included 1.8 billion USD between January and March, and theshrimp sector contributed 617.6 million USD to this sum, down 20 percent yearon year.
Boosting the shipment of shrimp products topotential markets like Canada is critical to help achieve the goal of 4.2billion USD in aquatic exports this year, and making use of preferentialtreatments under the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement forTrans-Pacific Partnership) is an important measure, according to the Thoi baoKinh te Viet Nam (Vietnam Economic Times).
As of March 15, Vietnam had shipped 23.8 millionUSD worth of shrimp products to Canada, up 7.5 percent from a year earlier. Therevenue has increased in recent years, from 122.5 million USD in 2016 to 161.6million USD last year.
Canada is currently the sixth biggest market forVietnamese shrimp, accounting for almost 5 percent of total shrimpexports.
Data of the International Trade Centre show thatshrimp imports by the North American country reached 513.3 million USD in 2018,down 5 percent from the previous year. Meanwhile, Vietnam is the biggest shrimpprovider for this market with a market share of 30.3 percent.
The Canadian government is diversifying marketsto reduce the dependence on imports from the US, and Vietnam is one of thecountries Canadian businesses want to boost trade with.
The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters andProducers said the CPTPP, taking effect in Vietnam on January 14, will creategood opportunities for the country’s shrimp exporters to make use of theCanadian market as rivals like India, Thailand and Indonesia are not members ofthis deal.
Echoing this view, the Ministry of Industry andTrade noted Canada is one of the CPTPP members with the highest market-openingcommitments. It will cut tariffs on 95 percent of imports down to zero, andthat covers 78 percent of Vietnam’s total exports to this market.
In addition, Canada is also one of the threeCPTPP members that Vietnam lacks a bilateral trade agreement with. The twosides’ export structures do not compete but are complementary.
Therefore, if businesses can grab opportunities,the CPTPP will open the door for many key products of Vietnam liketextile-garment, footwear, wood and aquatic products, according to theministry.-VNA
VNA
