While many seafood exports dropped sharply, fishery exports to Mexico increased sharply in April 2023, up more than 117% over the same period in 2022.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), for the past 3 months, Vietnam's tuna exports to Mexico have grown continuously.

In April 2023 alone, tuna exports to this market increased by 117% over the same period in 2022, reaching nearly $1.9 million. Accumulated in the first 4 months of 2023, exports to Mexico reached nearly $7.4 million, up 44% over the same period in 2022.

According to statistics of Vietnam Customs, Mexico mainly imports tuna meat and fillet from Vietnam, accounting for 74% of total export value, the rest is other processed tuna products.

With the entry into force of the CPTPP Agreement, Vietnamese frozen tuna loin products with code HS0304 exported to Mexico are currently being reduced from the base tax rate of 20% to 0%. Other processed tuna products, such as frozen steamed tuna loins, are exempt from tax when imported into Mexico.

Thus, the entry into force of CPTPP will create favorable conditions for Vietnam's tuna businesses to promote tuna exports to the Mexican market, especially for frozen tuna loins with HS0304 code.

Currently, Mexico has relations with many important economic regions in the world, in addition, Mexico also shares the same language, origin, history, and culture with Latin American countries. gateway to access to dynamic economic regions such as G20, Pacific Alliance. In addition, Mexico has a Free Trade Agreement with Europe, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and is a member of the CPTPP.

Therefore, for Vietnam, Mexico is a large potential market that needs to be exploited.

According to Mr. Luu Van Khang, Trade Counselor, Vietnam Trade Office in Mexico, with the fluctuating world situation, the increasing price of Chinese labor and goods, the trend of importing companies on The world, including Mexico, is looking for other suppliers, and Vietnam is also among them.

In addition, the CPTPP Agreement has been in effect for 3 years, so many key products of Vietnam have the opportunity to penetrate the 11th most populous market in the world, including tuna.

Currently, there are 9 enterprises participating in exporting tuna to Mexico. Among these, An Hai Seafood Company Limited, Hai Thanh Company Limited and Binh Dinh Seafood Joint Stock Company are the three largest tuna exporters to this market, accounting for 82% of the total tuna export value.

Vietnam's tuna exports in 2022 will reach nearly 1 billion USD. However, in the first half of this year, tuna exports to many markets fell sharply. Vietnam is currently the second largest tuna supplier to the US market after Thailand and Indonesia. Vietnam's share in the US tuna market in the first two months of 2023 has shrunk from 21% to 11%.

The number of Vietnamese enterprises participating in exporting tuna to the US market in the first quarter of 2023 also decreased to only 36 enterprises. In which, Mariso Vietnam, Mowi Vietnam and Dragon Waves are the 3 enterprises with the largest export value, accounting for 40% of total tuna export turnover to the US.