Viet Nam’s seafood exports surpass USD 11 billion

According to the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), seafood exports in December 2025 were estimated at around USD 840 million. With this result, total seafood export turnover for the whole of 2025 was estimated to reach over USD 11.34 billion, up 13% compared with 2024. Thus, 2025 marks the first year that Viet Nam’s seafood exports have surpassed the USD 11 billion mark.

2025 was a year marked by numerous challenges for Viet Nam’s seafood exports. First were U.S. tariff policies, including reciprocal tariffs and concerns over anti-dumping duties on imported shrimp starting in early 2026. Other pressures included high production costs and increasingly stringent technical barriers.

However, despite these major difficulties, Viet Nam’s seafood exports still recorded strong growth, surpassing the USD 11 billion mark. According to VASEP, three main factors created strong momentum for seafood exports in 2025.

First, instability in the global market increased demand for food stockpiling, posing the risk of a sharp price increase for food products, including seafood. This encouraged both consumers and businesses in many countries to step up purchases for inventory, thereby boosting seafood import demand.

In addition, the proactiveness and flexibility of the Vietnamese seafood business community played a crucial role in driving export growth. Seafood enterprises identified risks linked to unfavorable timelines related to reciprocal tariffs, anti-dumping duties, and the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), and accordingly adopted strategies to accelerate exports and adjust market focus and shipping plans to mitigate negative impacts.

Particularly, advantages from free trade agreements (FTAs) continued to serve as an important lever, enabling Viet Nam’s seafood exports to make breakthroughs in promising markets within the CPTPP, EU, and RCEP blocs, offsetting difficulties in several major markets.

For many years, the U.S. has consistently been the largest market for Vietnamese seafood. In 2025, however, the U.S. market experienced many uncertainties related to tariff policies and technical barriers. To minimize risks, Viet Nam’s seafood exports clearly adjusted their market structure, shifting strongly toward other major markets and blocs such as CPTPP, China–Hong Kong, and the EU.

With tariff advantages and the stability of markets such as Japan, Canada, and Australia, the CPTPP bloc emerged as a major export driver for Vietnamese seafood over the past year. Cumulatively in 2025, seafood export turnover to CPTPP markets reached USD 3.07 billion, up 22% compared to 2024.

Among Viet Nam’s key seafood markets, China–Hong Kong recorded the strongest growth, with full-year export turnover reaching USD 2.45 billion, increasing by 29% compared to 2024. With this result, China–Hong Kong surpassed the U.S. to become Viet Nam’s largest seafood export market.

Despite ongoing impacts from the IUU yellow card, seafood exports to the EU reached nearly USD 1.2 billion in 2025, up 12.5% compared to 2024. Seafood demand in the EU has been gradually improving, while Vietnamese seafood holds competitive advantages in aquaculture products.

According to Mr. Do Ngoc Tai, Chairman of VASEP, the achievement of seafood exports surpassing USD 11 billion for the first time in 2025 is clear evidence of the fisheries sector’s resilience, innovative spirit, and aspiration to rise.