China increased octopus imports from Vietnam in 2023

Cephalopod exports to China and Hong Kong in the fourth quarter of 2023 reached 27 million USD, an increase of 5% compared to 2022. After decreasing in the first two quarters of 2023, cephalopod exports to China and Hong Kong, began to recover in the first half of 2023.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, cephalopod exports to China only decreased slightly in December and grew by 4% and 13% in October and November, respectively. China’s ban on seafood import from Japan, after Japan’s nuclear wastewater discharged into the sea, pushed the market increase imports from other sources, including Vietnam. In addition, the demand for cephalopod in China increased in the fourth quarter to serve the consumption needs of the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day in this country. It is expected that cephalopod exports to China in the first quarter of 2024 will continue to grow well.

Squid products continue to be Vietnam’s main export product group to China and Hong Kong, accounting for 86%; octopus only accounts for 14% of total cephalopod exports to China. In 2023, octopus exports to China and Hong Kong grew by 17%, while squid exports decreased by 9%. The export value of live, fresh, and frozen squid increased by 57%. The export value of processed octopus and dried, salted, live, fresh, and frozen octopus increased by 30% and 14%, respectively.

China imports mainly from Vietnam products such as dried squid, dried cuttlefish, frozen cleaned whole cuttlefish, frozen sorted squid, frozen Tempura breaded squid, and white squid. frozen cut octopus, frozen cleaned whole octopus…

In 2023, the average export price of frozen octopus from Vietnam to China ranged from 2.3–5.3 USD/kg, and the average export price of frozen squid ranged from 1.9–3.6 USD/kg.