(seafood.vasep.com) In June 2025, Vietnam’s tuna exports experienced a sharp decline after a period of slowing growth. According to statistics from Vietnam Customs, tuna export turnover in June reached over 67 million USD - down 21% compared to the same month in 2024. However, for the first six months of 2025, the total tuna export value totaled 473 million USD, nearly equivalent to the same period last year, reflecting a slight increase of 0.2%.
U.S. Market Stagnation
Amid concerns over new U.S countervailing tariffs, many Vietnamese tuna exporters have proactively halted shipments to the U.S. to avoid the risk of high tax burdens. As a result, tuna exports to the U.S in June 2025 reached only 18 million USD, a sharp 41% decline compared to June 2024. Despite this, the U.S remains Vietnam's largest tuna export market with a cumulative export value of 184 million USD in the first six months of 2025, accounting for nearly 39% of the total export value.
EU and CPTPP markets: Diverging trends
Alongside the U.S, Vietnam's tuna exports to the EU market continued to decline significantly in June 2025, dropping 17% to just under 16 million USD. For the first six months of 2025, tuna exports to the EU saw a slight increase of nearly 1% compared to the same period last year, reaching 109 million USD. Exports to key markets in the region fell sharply in June with the Netherlands down 30% and Italy down 32%. In contrast, exports to Germany surged by 36% in June, rebounding after three consecutive months of decline. Economic weakness in Southern Europe and rising logistics costs are cited as key factors directly impacting seafood consumption.
In contrast, the CPTPP market showed positive growth, reaching 62 million USD, an 11% increase. Notably, exports to Japan and Canada surged by 24% and 15%, respectively. This represents a noteworthy bright spot amid declining performance in other major markets.
Niche markets experience strong fluctuations
Tuna exports to several smaller niche markets such as Israel, Russia, and Chile saw significant declines in June 2025. Escalating conflicts in the Middle East has significantly impacted exports to that region, with tuna exports to Israel consistently dropping throughout the first six months of 2025.
Meanwhile, Thailand recorded a remarkable growth of 137%, reaching 20 million USD, highlighting its growing role as a hub for processing and re-exporting tuna.
Processed tuna declines, frozen tuna remains dominant
Among Vietnam’s exported tuna products, frozen tuna meat/ loin (HS0304) saw a strong growth of 10%, reflecting stable demand from international food processing plants and supermarkets.
In contrast, processed tuna products (HS16) dropped by 5%, primarily due to a sharp 14% decline in canned tuna exports. This reflects the impact of a domestic raw tuna supply which continues to constrain enterprises' ability to fulfill orders - particularly for exports to the EU.
Tuna industry faces multiple challenges
Currently, the revision of Decree 37/2024/ND - CP is progressing too slow. Despite the Deputy Prime Minister’s directive to expedite amendments, the draft has yet to be issued - causing enterprises to miss opportunities during the tuna fishing season and face ongoing legal and procedural risks. The proposed replacement of the current regulation with a quota-based management system has raised concerns over increased administrative procedures and compliance burdens.
Additional issues with traceability regulations - such as minimum catch size requirements, prohibitions on mixing domestically caught tuna and imported raw materials and demands for invoices, documents and fishing vessel records -are forcing businesses to rely on more on imported tuna. This reduces the use of Vietnamese raw materials, a key factor in qualifying for tariff preferences under the EVFTA.
Under the EVFTA, the annual tariff-free quota for processed and canned tuna exports to the EU is 11,500 tons but this limit is typically exhausted within the first 4–5 months of the year. After the quota is reached, businesses must pay high MFN tariffs, reducing competitiveness and risking the loss of EU buyers. In the early years of the EVFTA’s implementation, the proportion of tuna of Vietnamese origin that qualified for preferential tariffs under the quota was high — ranging from 80% to 100%. However, over the past two years, this rate has dropped significantly, at times falling as low as 30%. The main reason is that many shipments lack sufficient documentation to prove origin. Moreover, the volume of products that meet the strict "wholly obtained" rules of origin under the EVFTA remains very limited. If the issues caused by the application of regulations in Decree 37/2024/NĐ-CP are not resolved, such a low percentage of Vietnamese-origin tuna will not only reduce the income of fishermen and domestic enterprises, but also affect future quota negotiations with the EU after 2027.
Given this situation, Vietnam’s tuna exports in the second half of the year are expected to face numerous difficulties and are unlikely to reach the same level as in 2024.