China massively buys Vietnamese lobsters, exports increase 19 times

China sharply increased lobster imports from Vietnam. Photo: Xuan Ngoc

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, by the end of February this year, our country's lobster exports were estimated to have reached nearly 30 million USD, an increase of 1,775% compared to 1.6 million USD in the same period last year, or nearly 19 times higher. Of which, green lobster exports reached 27.6 million USD, the rest were spiny lobsters.

China remains the largest export market for Vietnamese lobsters. In two months, this billion-people country spent nearly 29 million USD buying Vietnamese lobsters.

Last October, due to changes in regulations related to the country's Wildlife Protection Law, China stopped importing spiny lobsters from Vietnam.

Accordingly, 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 importing unit must have a license...

In mid-January this year, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam led a delegation of the Ministry to work with the General Department of Customs of China and the People's Government of Guangdong Province (China) on trade cooperation for agricultural development.

Accordingly, the two sides agreed to coordinate in handling difficulties in the import and export of lobsters according to a special mechanism and will include it in the protocol between the two countries.

While waiting for the protocol to be signed, China will consider creating a special mechanism for establishments to register to export lobsters to this country.

In our country, many localities can raise lobsters, with an estimated output of about 4,000 tons/year. Spiny lobsters alone have high economic value, generating revenue of about 2,000 billion VND. However, for many years now, exports to the Chinese market have accounted for 98-99%.

However, in the last months of 2023, because China stopped buying, the price of this high-end seafood fell sharply, farmers suffered losses and had to call for support for domestic consumption.

While waiting for the export market to be cleared, many lobster farmers have switched to raising green lobsters. Because the demand for green lobsters from China is quite high, farmers can still export fresh products to this market.

In addition, our country also exports green lobsters and spiny lobsters to Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

HA (according to Vietnamnet)

Source