Value-added shrimp accounts for 40% of total shrimp export value in Australia

As of November 15, 2023, Vietnam’s shrimp exports to Australia reached over 198 million USD, a 16% y-o-y decrease. This decline is still less severe than the rate of decline in major markets such as the EU, the US, Japan, and South Korea.

Vietnam saw fluctuation in shrimp exports to Australia in the first 7 months of the year. Subsequently, in August and September, shrimp exports to this market grew slightly. However, in October, there was a renewed decline, although the decrease was milder compared to previous months.

Over the past 5 years, Vietnam’s shrimp exports to Australia have continuously increased, from 127 million USD in 2019 to 272 million USD in 2022, with the share in Vietnam’s total shrimp exports rising from 3.7% in 2019 to 6.3% in 2022.

White leg shrimp accounts for the largest proportion among shrimp categories exported to Australia, representing 95%. Black tiger shrimp has a small share of 0.2%, while other shrimp types account for 4.8%. In the total shrimp products exported to Australia, value-added processed shrimp (HS code 16) constitutes 40% of the total export value to this market.

Australians increasingly prefer Vietnamese shrimp which is available from restaurants to major supermarket chains and convenience stores. The strength of Vietnamese shrimp compared to competitors in this market lies not only in quality and supply capacity but also in the level of value-added processing.

Australia is also leaning towards reducing imports from Thailand and China. Currently, Australia imports many value-added processed shrimp products, while Thailand’s processing capabilities are not as high as Vietnam’s.

Australia only imports shrimp from around 10 countries worldwide. Australia tends to narrow its market and focus on importing from major markets. This is one of the advantages for leading shrimp-supplying countries to Australia, including Vietnam.

(Source: https://vietfishmagazine.com/)