Seafood export turnover in the first four months of 2026 recorded double-digit growth. However, behind this success lie concerns about bottlenecks, compliance costs, and fierce competition.

To gain a better understanding of the roadmap to help Viet Nam's seafood exports reach the milestone of 12 billion USD, the Government Newspaper conducted an interview with Mr. Nguyen Hoai Nam, General Secretary of the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Processing and Export (VASEP).

Sir, the export turnover of 3.656 billion USD in the first four months of 2026 (an increase of 13.8%) is a very impressive result. How would you assess the biggest "bright spots" of the industry during this period?

Mr. Nguyen Hoai Nam: It's true that we've had a fairly favorable start. The biggest bright spot lies not only in the overall figures but also in the flexible shift in markets. While the US and EU recovered slowly, China became the real "driving force," contributing more than 70% of the industry's overall growth. This market alone reached exactly $1 billion in 4 months, an increase of 45.2%.

A notable achievement is Viet Nam's technological capacity in seafood processing. It can be said that Viet Nam is among the world leaders in processing value-added seafood products. This is currently a significant advantage over competing seafood exporting countries such as Ecuador and India. For example, our value-added processed shrimp products account for over 70% of our exports. Ready-to-eat, convenient products like Nobashi, Tempura, and PTO have helped us retain customers in the high-end segments despite intense competition.

Despite the increase in export value, he once shared that the business is facing significant challenges. What are the biggest bottlenecks hindering this breakthrough, sir?

Mr. Nguyen Hoai Nam: In early May 2026, VASEP submitted a comprehensive report to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment outlining 15 challenges facing Viet Nam's fisheries sector, including both external and internal challenges.

Some bottlenecks we highlight include inadequacies in the implementation of documents for exporting seafood shipments to the US and EU, trade defense investigations (anti-dumping, anti-subsidy) and equivalent assessments from the US, and tax-related issues. A particularly pressing issue currently raised by seafood businesses is the regulation requiring VAT payment on goods brought back for repair and re-export. Previously, goods brought back for repair and re-export were exempt from VAT, but the new VAT law, effective from July 1, 2025, requires businesses to pay VAT immediately upon arrival at the port. This effectively ties up businesses' capital while VAT refunds remain difficult.

Secondly, the shrimp quota in the VKFTA agreement with South Korea is outdated. Vietnamese shrimp has had a quota of 15,000 tons per year since the VKFTA agreement came into effect in 2015. Meanwhile, our current export capacity is 4-5 times that amount; with a production volume within the 15,000-ton quota, businesses report that importers in South Korea have to bid with a significant fee, ranging from 16-18% of the shipment value (almost equal to the basic tariff). The VASEP Association has reported this issue to the Government, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

Not to mention the increasingly stringent international tariff and non-tariff barriers, such as anti-subsidy and anti-dumping investigations, and allegations of forced labor. The shrimp industry is currently subject to four laws, while the harvested seafood industry is subject to three laws simultaneously. The MMPA (Maritime Mammal Protection Act) regulations and the US Certificate of Analysis (COA), as well as the EU's IUU yellow card, are causing significant drain on human resources, time, and opportunities for the Vietnamese seafood business community and the industry.

He often emphasized the role of raw materials in seafood exports. So how should the raw material supply problem for factories be solved today?

Mr. Nguyen Hoai Nam: As a developed industry with a commercial scale, closely linked to the production of fishermen and farmers, raw materials from domestic aquaculture and exploitation are very important. But with world-leading processing technology and our position as one of the top 3 seafood suppliers in the world, we need to change our mindset regarding imported raw materials. Imported raw materials are crucial in the supply chain to maintain continuous supply. Those involved in seafood processing and export clearly distinguish that the majority (over 80%) of our seafood imports are "imports for export production"—completely different from imports for processing and export or imports for commercial purposes.

To put it simply, importing tuna for export production means we buy the entire shipment of raw materials from a ship—hundreds to thousands of tons of tuna—on the international market using our own funds. We then store it in our warehouses and process it into various products according to orders from different buyers. This is a form of controlling the goods, controlling the processing technology, creating jobs, and generating the highest added value. For certain product groups where raw materials fluctuate seasonally, if we don't import raw materials flexibly during off-seasons, many factories will face production shortages, workers will lose their jobs, and we will lose our supply chain and customers to competitors. We propose that the Government and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development consider imported seafood raw materials as a crucial supplement to maintain our position as the world's seafood "factory."

With the goal of exporting over $12 billion in 2026, what groundbreaking proposals does VASEP have to support businesses, sir?

Mr. Nguyen Hoai Nam: We propose three key areas of focus.

Firstly, institutional reform and improvement of the business environment are necessary. We need a strong shift from "pre-approval" to "post-approval," managing based on risk and the compliance history of businesses. Administrative procedures cannot be allowed to cause businesses to lose opportunities that are only a matter of days. In our report to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in early May 2026, we included approximately 10 specific recommendations, hoping they will be addressed soon to further enhance the competitiveness of the industry and the nation.

Secondly, focus on the issue of raw materials for export processing, protecting the supply through specific solutions - from increasing the area of aquaculture in localities, investing in infrastructure for farming areas, breeding stock and feed to reduce the cost of aquaculture, to reviewing and amending the zoning of marine exploitation (shore, inshore, offshore) accordingly, investing in and building more standard fishing ports to make it easier for fishermen to dock, supporting and "carefully managing" to export raw materials harvested from small-scale fishing related to the livelihoods and jobs of thousands of fishermen and businesses.

The direction of increasing scientific and technological development and the production of value-added goods is an "irreversible path." We cannot continue to compete solely on quantity or low prices. Every ton of seafood exported must bring higher value through deep processing, meeting green and sustainable standards.

Thirdly, we propose that the Government and the Ministries of Agriculture and Environment, Foreign Affairs, and Industry and Trade continue to strengthen market-based efforts and international engagement, not only to overcome "barriers" and affirm commitments, but also to eliminate one-sided accusations or impositions lacking scientific or practical basis on both tariff and non-tariff issues.

Do you believe that Viet Nam's fisheries sector has passed its most difficult phase?

Mr. Nguyen Hoai Nam: I believe we have overcome the market "shock," but this is the time to enter the real competitive phase. It's no longer a price war, but a race for transparency, traceability, and compliance. Our message is: Seafood businesses are facing many difficulties and are making great efforts to overcome challenges, and we need more substantial support from regulatory agencies to unblock the bottlenecks caused by certain regulations and procedures.

Thank you for this conversation!

Source: Vietnam.vn