Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnamese tuna appears ideally placed to take advantageof the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), with shipments rising 0.5 percentyear-on-year to 126 million USD during January-November despite COVID-19.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP),tuna exports to Italy, Germany, and Spain rose 60 percent, 20 percent, and 41 percent,respectively.

Exports to theEU are expected to increase handily in December as importers prepare for tuna batchesfor 2021 while taking advantage of tariff incentives under the FTA.

Under the agreement, which came into effect on August 1, the EU has eliminated tariffson fresh and frozen Vietnamese tuna, with 11,500 tonnes of canned tuna and 500 tonnesof canned fish balls benefiting from the exemption annually.

The bloc also removes tariffs on frozen tenderloin and fillets under a three-yearroadmap, and on steamed tenderloin and fillets under a seven-year roadmap.

With the tax breaks from the EVFTA, Vietnamese tuna products are able to gain acompetitive edge over rivals from other exporters like Thailand and China.

However, VASEP Vice President Nguyen Thi Thu Sac said that local firms must obeythe strict rules of the EU market, such as in illegal, unreported and unregulated(IUU) fishing, food safety, and food origin traceability.

The General Department of Vietnam Customs said nearly 600 million USD wasearned from tuna exports in the eleven-month period. The US continued to be thelargest importer, outlaying over 260 million USD, followed by the EU with more than126 million USD.

Several markets posted a fall in tuna consumption, such as Egypt and the MiddleEast, since governments banned gatherings and ordered restaurants closed as partof COVID-19 prevention measures.

According to Nguyen Duy Hung, First Secretary and head of the trade office underthe Vietnamese Embassy in Egypt, demand for tuna has surged in Egypt and the MiddleEast in recent years. Thailand is currently the largest tuna provider to Egypt.Though Vietnam is the second-largest exporter, it has a market share of just 5.6percent.

Vietnam, he believes, holds substantial potential in shipping tuna to the northAfrican nation because COVID-19 has driven many importing countries to diversifysuppliers to avoid any dependence on a single source./.