According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), Vietnam's exports of crab and other relatives have grown continuously since the beginning of this year. However, the growth rate is slowing down.
According to data from the General Department of Customs, in the first 4 months of the year, the export turnover of crab and other dead-end products reached more than 113 million USD, an increase of 51% over the same period last year and nearly 3 times higher than the same period in 2023.
During this period, all types of crab products recorded growth. In particular, crab exports - Vietnam's main commodity - have increased by 65% compared to the same period last year. The group of fresh, dried, salted and frozen products recorded the strongest increase, up to 78%, while canned goods also recorded an increase of 18%.
By the end of April 2025, Vietnam has exported crab and other relatives to 21 countries and territories. In particular, many markets recorded double-digit increases, especially China, continuing to maintain a high growth momentum with an increase of 90% over the same period. Domestic markets such as Japan and Canada also maintained stable growth, contributing to increasing the total turnover of the whole industry.
Notably, the emerging EU market is a new bright spot with an impressive growth rate of 106% over the same period in 2024. However, the value of exports to this region is still modest, showing that there is still a lot of room for growth if the incentives from the EVFTA agreement are better exploited.
In contrast to the increase in many markets, crab exports to the US in the first 4 months of 2025 have been almost flat compared to the same period last year.
According to VASEP, changes in US trade policy have caused export shipments to this market to stagnate and sales to be unstable.
Currently, more than 80 domestic enterprises are participating in exporting crab and other dead skin types. In the context of the US tightening regulations, businesses need to proactively adapt, boost exports to emerging markets, and diversify products and improve deep processing capacity to maintain growth momentum in the following months.
