Vietnam’s Seafood Industry

November 4, 2015.

With Vietnam’s coast exceeding 3,000 kilometers, it’s no surprise that the country’s seafood industry is strong and alive. The nation’s domestic seafood market is growing and is expected to continue rising until 2020. The average annual consumption of seafood by the domestic market has reached 27kg per capita and it’s expected to increase by 5.37% on average per year until 2020. As important as the domestic seafood market is though, Vietnam has started to focus more on exports in the seafood industry, with shrimp, pangasius, tuna and marine fish being its most important products. Factors like the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) have provided huge opportunities for the export of seafood products, especially to countries like the US where Vietnam is one of the leading importers of seafood. The Vietnamese government has also taken action to encourage further investment in the seafood industry. Thanks to the current five year plan, which is expected to be completed in 2020, the Vietnamese government will build major fishing centers in five provinces, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Khanh Hoa, Ba Ria – Vung Tau and Kien Giang.

Louie Nguyen, CFA is the CIO of San Diego-based Soledad Investment Management. Soledad invests qualified clients’ assets in markets around the world, including Vietnam.