Vietnam’s Seafood Exports: Growth Drivers, Market Shifts, and 2026 Outlook

Vietnam’s seafood exports delivered a notably upbeat performance in 2025, even as exporters navigated uneven global demand, stricter technical barriers, and rising trade-policy risk.

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According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), the country’s full-year seafood export revenue reached US$11.34 billion in 2025, up 13 percent year-on-year. The headline number showcases that seafood remains a core pillar of Vietnam’s agri-food export complex, with growth driven by both aquaculture and higher-value segments.

Nonetheless, the sector’s outlook for 2026 will mainly encounter challenges from external policy developments, particularly US trade regulations, sustainability standards, and the EU’s “yellow card” constraint against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

This article reviews Vietnam’s 2025 export performance, the markets and products driving growth, potential new opportunity markets, the 2026 risk picture, and practical implications for businesses.

2025 overview: Seafood exports rebound with balanced category growth

Vietnam’s seafood export turnover in 2025 surpassed US$11.34 billion, supported by growth across key product categories.

Product performance suggests a sector that is shifting toward higher-value and more diversified output:

• Shrimp exports reached US$4.65 billion, up 20 percent, remaining the largest contributor to total seafood export turnover.
• Lobster exports surged to US$817 million, more than doubling 2024 levels, reflecting strong demand for premium live product in North Asia.
• Catfish (pangasius) exports earned US$2.19 billion, up 8 percent, continuing to anchor Vietnam’s value seafood exports.

VASEP also notes “bright spot” products that, while smaller in absolute value, are gaining strategic relevance, such as tilapia in certain export channels.

Key export markets of Vietnam’s seafood

In 2025, Vietnam’s seafood exports remained dominated by traditional buyers. However, the dynamics within the sector are shifting as the importance of preferential trade routes grows.

China and Hong Kong (China)

China and Hong Kong (China) remained the largest combined market, with exports increasing by 29 percent to US$2.45 billion. These markets were the standout demand engines in 2025. Beyond the headline growth rate, industry reporting highlights that performance was closely tied to the premium live segment, especially lobster and certain marine products.

United States

Vietnam exported nearly US$1.9 billion worth of seafood to the US in 2025, up 3 percent from the previous year. The US remained one of Vietnam’s most important markets by value. While 2025 growth was modest, the market’s strategic importance is disproportionate because it is often a pricing reference point for global shrimp and value-added segments.

European Union

Vietnam’s seafood shipments to the EU rose to US$1.2 billion in 2025, increasing 12.5 percent year-on-year. The EU showed solid growth in 2025, but remains structurally constrained by sustainability and traceability pressures and the unresolved IUU yellow card.

New horizons from free trade agreements

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In 2025, Vietnam’s seafood exports to CPTPP markets reached US$3.07 billion, a 22 percent increase, with steady demand from Japan, Canada, and Australia as major drivers.

The data indicate that exporters continued to build resilience through trade agreements, especially the CPTPP group, where tariff preferences and stable demand patterns help reduce exposure to shocks from individual markets.

Main seafood export products

Vietnam’s 2025 seafood story is best understood as a two-track model: high-volume categories that anchor stable revenue, and premium categories that lift value growth.

Shrimp remained the core export, with strong growth attributed to a combination of demand recovery and improved competitiveness in key markets. Pangasius continued to serve as a stable, scalable category for both mainstream and value-added products.

The premium track was led by lobster. Industry reporting indicates that lobster growth in 2025 was driven by rising demand in China and Hong Kong for live, premium seafood, especially through hospitality and food service channels.

This product mix has operational implications: high-performing exporters tend to be those with stronger cold chain capabilities, better compliance management, and tighter control over traceability and sourcing standards.

Potential markets with new opportunities

Singapore

Singapore is emerging as a meaningful “proof market” for Vietnamese seafood branding and quality positioning. In the first nine months of 2025, Vietnam became Singapore’s third-largest seafood supplier, continuing a multi-year rise in ranking that local reporting links to increased confidence in Vietnamese product quality and branding.

While Singapore is not a volume market on the scale of China or the US, it is strategically relevant because it can serve as a distribution and branding node for wider ASEAN consumption patterns.

Halal markets

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Another opportunity channel is the Halal market, where Vietnamese authorities and trade promotion bodies are increasingly framing Halal compliance as a route to diversification and value-chain upgrading. Ho Chi Minh City has identified building a “Halal ecosystem” as a strategic direction, and trade promotion agencies are expanding supply-demand matching and supply chain connectivity programs, particularly linked to Middle East demand.

For seafood exporters, Halal is more than just a certification; it’s a strategy for market access and building trust. The key business impact is that Halal compliance favors exporters who provide consistent documentation, auditable processing controls, and stable product specifications – skills that also boost competitiveness in the EU, Japan, and upscale retail markets.

2026 outlook of Vietnam’s seafood exports

The development of Vietnam’s seafood exports in 2026 is likely to be shaped by three overlapping risk factors, including US trade and regulatory pressures, constraints from the EU’s IUU “yellow card”, and increasing competitiveness from other exporting countries.

Uncertainty from US trade policies

US tariff threats and market access rules are a near-term concern. Reporting has pointed to a chain reaction in early 2026 tied to “taxes” and US-linked regulatory barriers, with a potential recovery from the second quarter of 2026 depending on Vietnam’s ability to reduce tariff barriers and adjust product strategy.

A separate, highly material risk is the implementation of US import restrictions under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). Effective January 1, 2026, exports from 12 Vietnamese fisheries have been blocked from entering the US after the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) denied comparability findings for these fisheries under MMPA standards, meaning they were not judged to have regulatory programs comparable in effectiveness to US protections for marine mammals.

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This ban affects major seafood export categories, including tuna, swordfish, grouper, mackerel, mullet, crabs, squid, and other species. In response, Vietnamese authorities have advised firms to strengthen exports to non-U.S. markets and are implementing certification and compliance measures (such as Certificates of Admissibility) for fisheries that retain market eligibility.

Even if these restrictions are narrowed, delayed, or accompanied by targeted compliance efforts, they signal rising environmental and traceability expectations in the US market and could significantly reshape Vietnam’s seafood export landscape in 2026.

EU’s IUU “yellow card”

In Europe, the unresolved IUU yellow card remains a structural constraint for wild-caught exports and for overall market positioning on sustainability. Vietnam has stated ambitions to address the issue, and industry commentary continues to frame the removal of the yellow card as a key condition for improving EU performance and reducing friction costs.

Growing competition

Competition in the global seafood market is expected to grow more intense. Industry reports highlight increasing competitive pressure from producers like India, Ecuador, and Indonesia. This emphasizes the need for Vietnam to move away from competing mainly on low prices and to focus instead on higher-value-added processed products and stronger sustainability credentials.

Implications for businesses

For exporters, processors, traders, and input suppliers, the 2025 results are positive, but they do not reduce the need for operational upgrading. In fact, they raise the opportunity cost of underinvesting in compliance and value-added capacity.

The strategic direction is clear: diversify markets, upgrade compliance and traceability, and increase the proportion of value-added products to protect margins and maintain access in high-standard markets.

For foreign investors and strategic partners, the takeaway is that Vietnam’s seafood sector is entering a phase where growth is increasingly driven by processing technology, standards compliance, and supply chain integration rather than raw volume expansion. That shift tends to favor businesses with strong governance, export market expertise, and the ability to build auditable systems end-to-end.

See also: Export Processing Enterprises in Vietnam: Eligibility and Alternatives in 2025

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