Vietnam shrimp exports to the UK as of September 15, 2020 reached $161.2 million, up 15% over the same period in 2019. The UK is also considered one of the import markets of Vietnamese shrimp that perform well and seem to is not affected much by the Covid-19 epidemic since the beginning of the year until now.
Except for January, the export value decreased, in the remaining months since the beginning of the year until now, Vietnam's shrimp exports to the UK have achieved positive growth. In June this year, shrimp exports to the UK achieved the highest growth rate of 54% compared to June in 2019.
In 2019, when still in the EU, the UK was the largest shrimp importer of Vietnam in the EU, accounting for 29% of the total value of Vietnamese shrimp exports to the EU and accounting for 6% of the total shrimp export value of Vietnam. After the Brexit event, from February 2020 onwards, the UK became the single market and ranked the 6th in Vietnamese shrimp imports, accounting for 6.5% of the total shrimp export value of Vietnam.
In the past 5 years, the UK was a remarkable market for many Vietnamese enterprises. From 2015 to 2019, the UK was always in the 1st and 2nd position in terms of Vietnamese shrimp imports in the EU. In the period from 2014 to 2019, Vietnam's shrimp exports to the UK grew continuously, from nearly US$ 130 million in 2015 to US$ 202.5 million in 2019, up 56%.
The UK mainly imports from Vietnam shrimp products such as frozen PD fresh whiteleg shrimp, frozen fresh whiteleg shrimp, frozen fresh whiteleg shrimp skewers, frozen PDTO whiteleg shrimp, frozen fresh whiteleg shrimp head on (HLSO), frozen fresh whiteleg shrimp (nobashi), frozen boiled whiteleg shrimp, PTO boiled whiteleg shrimp with soy sauce, frozen fried breaded whiteleg shrimp, frozen boiled whiteleg shrimp…
The UK tends to boost imports of warm-water shrimp from Vietnam, India ... to substitute cold-water shrimp (imported from Greenland and Eastern Canada) since reducing exploitation quota and increasing the price.
In the UK retail segment, warm-water shrimp is the most popular, accounting for 61% of total shrimp sales (34% of which is sold in the frozen sector). Cold-water shrimp accounts for 37% (of which 39% is sold in the frozen sector).
Shrimp of all kinds in the UK is sold through the fast-service restaurant channel (accounting for 45% of total sales); 26% is sold in service restaurants; 13% is sold in pubs, 11% is served in tourism and entertainment services and 5% is served for offices and universities.
The UK increasingly prefer marinated shrimp (steamed or frozen), sushi shrimp. Busy people often like steamed shrimp, peeled, processed in the form of added value.
Over the years, Vietnam has remained the largest shrimp supplier to the UK, accounting for 24% of the UK's total shrimp imports, followed by India and Thailand.
Vietnam shrimp exports to the UK from now until the end of the year still enjoy the same tax incentives as exporting to other markets in the EU. Processed shrimp products originating from Vietnam in the UK market are having a higher advantage in selling price and quality than those of India and Bangladesh.