Seafood exports for January-August 2026 compiled by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) came to about US$8 billion, 11.8% above the same period last year. August alone was US$1.14 billion, up 6% year on year. Shrimp still leads by value (US$3.29 billion), but what drove the eight-month growth were items outside shrimp. Crab rose 34%, and bivalves led by clams rose 30.8%. The procurement map of Vietnamese seafood, once all about shrimp, is being redrawn before Japan's seafood buyers.
August reached US$1.14 billion, building up to US$8 billion over eight months
Seafood exports accelerated month by month in 2026, reaching a cumulative about US$8 billion (up 11.8% year on year) for January-August. August alone was US$1.14 billion, up 6%. The full-year target of US$12 billion comes within reach if this pace continues. Breaking it down by item, shrimp still holds the top spot at about 40% of the total, while the substance of the growth split widely by category.
| Items | Value for January-August | Year on year |
|---|---|---|
| Shrimp | US$3.29 billion | +12.3% |
| Pangasius | US$1.5 billion | +9% |
| Tuna | US$622 million | +0.5% |
| Squid and octopus | US$524 million | +14.4% |
| Crab | About US$305 million | +34% |
| Bivalves and other shellfish | US$210 million | +30.8% |
Crab +34%, shellfish +30.8%: the lead changed hands in growth rate
While growth in shrimp and tuna stayed from the single digits to the low teens, crab and shellfish both topped 30%. The value itself is small, less than a tenth of shrimp. Even so, the fact that their growth stands out shows that the revenue sources of Vietnamese seafood are no longer bound solely to shrimp prices and tariff risk. Producing regions have begun to grow earners other than shrimp, and the concentration of value in a single item is starting to loosen. Vietnamese shrimp at US$2.3 billion in the first half, with a 12.5% US tariff opening a gap for Japan's procurement we reported, and crab and shellfish are widening that gap from a different angle.
Exports to Japan were US$1.11 billion, up 2%, with the growth centered on China and Hong Kong
Exports to Japan were US$1.11 billion over eight months, up 2%. Volume is stable, but the growth is gradual. Overall growth was led by China and Hong Kong, which accounted for 25.35% of total exports and generated more than 60% of the sector's growth. The breakdown for Japan centers on existing items such as shrimp and octopus, and trade in crab and shellfish to Japan has not yet taken off in earnest. Put another way, the faster-growing categories still have open room for Japan. This is where there remains room to grab the trade flow first.
Japan's crab procurement leans toward Russian product; Vietnamese crab is a different lineup
Japan's crab imports are weighted heavily toward Russian product such as snow crab and king crab, and wholesale prices have swung with economic sanctions and changing catch quotas. Vietnamese crab is mainly mud crab (cua) raised in mangrove areas and swimming crab (ghe), geared not to gift demand for whole crab but to picked meat, crab claws, frozen processing and foodservice. Its use does not directly replace Russian whole crab. But for processors and foodservice chains that want to diversify sources of crab meat and crab products, it can be a realistic second origin. Vietnam is one of the major crab-producing countries, with depth of supply.
For shellfish, a decline in domestic supply overlaps with expanding Vietnamese clam supply
Japan relies on imports for about half of its seafood demand. Domestic scallops rose 40% at wholesale amid falling production and rising exports, becoming hard to obtain even in producing areas. Japan's domestic clam catch has thinned over decades. Into this supply gap, Vietnamese bivalves are growing in volume. Clams (ngheu), oysters and scallops are produced in coastal provinces such as Ben Tre, Tra Vinh, Tien Giang, Nam Dinh and Ninh Binh, and Japan ranks as one of the main destinations for Vietnamese bivalves. The more a domestic item thins, the greater the need to secure an alternative origin.
Vietnamese clams meet the conditions to reach Japan's shelves with ASC and MSC certification
For bivalves bound for Japan, the EU and the United States, certifications such as ASC, BAP and MSC are effectively the ticket to entry. Vietnam has established ASC-certified zones in Tien Giang, Tra Vinh, Nam Dinh and Ninh Binh, and the hand-dug clam fishery in Ben Tre and Vinh Long obtained MSC certification. Having the traceability and sustainability paperwork in order is a precondition for meeting the procurement standards of mass retailers, co-ops and foodservice. In addition, Vietnam already functions as a reprocessing site for Japanese shell-on frozen scallops, much of which is said to flow to Vietnam. The fact that the logistics and processing links to Japan already exist shortens the distance when launching a new category.
Why to secure the space outside shrimp now
Crab and shellfish may be small in value, but they are gaining presence through growth and stable prices. Shrimp prices swing easily with US tariffs and Chinese inventory adjustments, and crab and shellfish partly offset those movements. Building the trade flow now, while producing regions are expanding certified zones and processing capacity, makes it easier to secure quota when supply thins or prices spike. The same pattern is occurring with whitefish, and the US tariff on Vietnamese pangasius was finalized, and whitefish is flowing to Japan via the CPTPP a move is emerging. Procurement that broadens across items overlaps with the structural change under way across Vietnamese seafood as a whole.
What Japanese buyers should check if they act
If you newly source Vietnamese crab and shellfish, the items to check are narrow: the certification (ASC, MSC, BAP) and expiry for the target item, the growing-area code and processing-plant number, compliance with Japan's Food Sanitation Act and shellfish-toxin monitoring, seasonality of volume (clams follow a cycle of seeding and growth; crab meat yield changes with the molting period), and external factors such as the EU's IUU yellow card and shellfish-toxin regulations. Rather than judging on paperwork alone, it is faster to verify the process in negotiations that build in a site visit. VietFish 2026 is moving toward negotiations with site visits, and a window is open for Japan's procurement. There is great value in seeing the factories and farming zones with your own eyes on this occasion.
The US$12 billion target and the variables of 2026
The full-year target of US$12 billion is within reach if this growth continues. Variables remain: US tariffs, EU IUU compliance, feed and seed costs, and the impact of the shellfish-toxin season. The structural change in Vietnamese seafood, moving from a shrimp-only focus toward item diversification, is for Japan's procurement side one of the few windows to secure suppliers in new categories before prices move. The growth of more than 30% in crab and shellfish shows in numbers that this window is open now.
References:
Tinnhanhchungkhoan, "Xuat khau thuy san 8 thang thu 8 ty USD, muc tieu 12 ty USD kha thi" (September 4, 2026)
Vietnam Briefing「Vietnam’s Seafood Exports: Growth Drivers, Market Shifts, and Outlook」
MSC Fisheries「Vietnam Vinh Long clam hand gathered fishery」
JETRO, "Scallops: Japanese food ingredient pickup"
Nikkei, "Scallops up 40%: 'a producing region yet unable to eat them' amid falling production and rising exports"
