Tuna exports to UK takes sudden downturn

However, Vietnam’s tuna export to the U.K. over the first nine months of 2023 still achieved a 48% year-on-year increase, reaching over US$5.5 million, thanks to a massive growth spike in Q1, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

The U.K. is one of the 10 biggest importers of tuna in the world and among its 45 tuna suppliers, Vietnam ranks 13th, with Ecuador, Mauritius and Seychelles taking the top spots, according to the International Trade Centre.

Last month, VASEP forecast that there might be more potential for Asian exporters, including Vietnam, towards the end of the year, as the El Nino phenomenon – a climate pattern in which the ocean surface in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean periodically warms up – will likely reduce rainfall in the Panama Canal, negatively impacting trade route from South America, where Ecuador is located, to Europe.

The U.K. has similar import standards to the EU, the latter of which issued a "yellow card" to Vietnam’s seafood over illegal fishing back in October of 2017. The "yellow card" warning, which has not been lifted, significantly impedes Vietnam’s seafood exports.