Seafood exports in the first 9 months reached $ 8.11 billion

Reaching $10 billion in 2025, with many challenges ahead in 2026

According to the Agency of Foreign Trade (Ministry of Industry and Trade), Vietnam’s seafood exports in the first nine months of 2025 are estimated at $ 8.11 billion, up 12.3% compared to the same period in 2024.

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) forecasts that seafood exports in 2025 will approach the $10 billion milestone – a remarkable achievement. However, behind this growth, challenges from tariffs, technical barriers, and international regulations are casting a shadow over 2026.

In particular, the 20% reciprocal tariff on Vietnamese seafood in the U.S. market has made it less competitive compared to Thailand, Indonesia, or Ecuador. The shrimp sector also faces the risk of high anti-dumping duties in the upcoming POR19 review.

More concerning, starting January 1, 2026, the U.S. will ban imports of seafood from 12 Vietnamese fisheries that have not been recognized as equivalent under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), which could wipe out more than $500 million in annual export value.

In addition, the EU’s yellow card on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing has not yet been lifted. New regulations on minimum skipjack tuna sizes and bans on mixing raw materials are making it difficult for many enterprises to source legally compliant supplies.

Faced with these risks, many companies have considered diversifying into Asian, Middle Eastern, and South American markets. However, market expansion is a long-term effort, and the U.S. remains the number one market.

Therefore, VASEP emphasized that to maintain its position, the seafood industry must accelerate the removal of the IUU yellow card while actively addressing trade barriers in the U.S. market. Otherwise, after a year of growth in 2025, the industry may face major challenges in 2026.

Three strategic proposals to break bottlenecks and develop sustainable seafood

At the 14th Session of the National Steering Committee on IUU, VASEP Secretary General Nguyen Hoai Nam proposed three solutions that address immediate issues and shape a long-term strategy for Vietnam’s seafood sector toward transparency, sustainability, and deeper integration.

First, accelerate digitalization – the key to transparency and effective control. VASEP strongly agreed with the Ministry of National Defense’s view that digitalization must be the backbone of modern fisheries management. Given limited human and material resources at the local level, shifting from “manual management” to digital platforms is the solution to ease the burden, resolve bottlenecks, and improve efficiency.

Digitalization not only helps ensure transparency across the supply chain — from fishing, landing, and purchasing to processing and export, but also acts as an effective tool to “seal loopholes” in law enforcement, reduce fraud, and build stronger trust with international partners. This is a crucial foundation for fulfilling the commitment to “never trade national reputation for the prolonged IUU yellow card warning.”

Second, expand the list of certified and designated fishing ports to clear input bottlenecks.

A worrying reality today is that although Vietnam has tens of thousands of fishing vessels, there are currently only 51 designated fishing ports that meet the legal requirements, resources, and facilities necessary to fulfill their roles.

This has created a bottleneck where only a small proportion of caught seafood is properly monitored through designated ports, while the majority still passes through non-compliant ports and landing sites. This bottleneck means that even vessels complying with regulations may not be able to dock at designated ports, leading to products that fail to meet export requirements.

VASEP highly values and strongly supports the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment’s recent recommendation to prioritize investment in upgrading infrastructure and resources at local fishing ports so that more ports can meet standards and be designated.

This is not only a technical issue of improving fisheries capacity but also a crucial step in completing the fisheries monitoring chain to ensure the legality and validity of every shipment in the international market.