Illustrative image.

Tuna exports enjoyed a three-digit growth rate in the first month of this year, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

Statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs showed that tuna export turnover reached nearly 88 million USD, up 108 percent compared with the same period last year.

Vietnamese frozen tuna fillets remain the key export product, accounting for more than 66 percent of the total export value.

Shipments of Vietnamese tuna products to eight major markets are on the rise, except for China. The US is still Vietnam’s largest importer, making up nearly 50 percent of the country’s total tuna export value in January. The country earned 44 million USD from the export of the product to the US in the month, an increase of 210 percent year-on-year.

Vietnam’s tuna exports to the EU also rose remarkably in the first month of this year. Notably, tuna sales to Netherlands and Lithuania soared by 243 percent and nearly 2,000 percent against the previous year, respectively.

The export of the product to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) member countries also surged in January. For example, tuna exports to Canada and Peru increased by 26 percent and nearly 2,300 percent compared with the same period last year, respectively.

However, tuna exports to Japan in the month dropped 17 percent year on year./.