Export

VietFish 2026, with 568 booths, introduced a buyer-invitation system for the first time. We read what it means for Japanese buyers who want to source Vietnamese seafood amid the headwind of US tariffs.

Quang Ngai province, aiming to have the EU's yellow card lifted, is tightening up the licensing, VMS, and catch records of 4,863 fishing vessels. We unpack the local moves that caught 100 vessels with interrupted signals, and the traceability demands that reach Japanese buyers.

From July 24, the United States imposed an additional 12.5% on Vietnamese seafood. The 2.5-point gap with Ecuadorian players is eroding the profitability of Vietnamese shrimp in the US market. We unpack, from a Japanese sourcing perspective, the flat US$890 million in first-half exports to the United States, the 48% last-minute surge in June, the shift to processing, and the realignment of supply to Japan.

On July 31, 2026, US retail and seafood groups formed the "American Shrimp Alliance" to oppose import-shrimp restrictions. We unpack, from a practical standpoint, the tailwind for Vietnamese shrimp, whose exports to the United States fell 15%, and the impact on Japanese buyers who purchase from the same supply pool.

98.5% of Vietnamese lobster exports go to China. The first half of 2026 was US$584.6 million, up 44%, but we read the danger of over-concentration shown by the 2023 spiny-lobster restrictions, and the room for diversification into the Japanese market.

On July 31, China Customs additionally accredited 18 Vietnamese testing labs, bringing the total to 50. The congestion in customs clearance to China has eased, and 2026 durian exports are heading for a record US$4.5 billion. We unpack the imbalance of 90% of exports going to China and the impact on Japan's frozen-durian sourcing.

Ho Chi Minh City's Trang Linh established 35 hectares of noni production on the volcanic-ash soil of the former Xuyen Moc. Expecting USDA organic certification in August 2026, it is heading for South Korean and US exports. We read its design leaning toward processing across seven product lines, and the niche position it holds for Japanese functional-ingredient sourcing.

In July 2026, India officially opened its market to fresh Vietnamese durian, moving ahead of Thailand with no additional quarantine. We read what this means as the first large-scale diversification destination for Vietnamese durian, which has staked most of its earnings on the single Chinese market, and the knock-on effects that the scramble for fresh fruit will have on Japan's frozen sourcing.

Chinese frozen squid is rapidly losing its presence in the EU market. According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) on July 28, China's frozen-squid exports to the EU in the first half of 2026 came to only 19,690 tonnes, down 49.4% from the same period a year earlier. Of the EU's frozen-squid imports, China's...

The export that Lam Dong province approved in July was not harvested potatoes but "seed." According to Nong nghiep Moi truong (an agriculture-and-environment paper) dated July 25, 2026, the province's Department of Agriculture and Environment granted its subordinate "Potato, Vegetable and Flower Research Center" 23 varieties of potato seed, totaling 27,95...