Brazil bans import of Vietnam’s tilapia: Will businesses be affected?

Editor/Mohamed Shihab

Brazil has officially stopped importing tilapia products from Vietnam since 14 Feb 2024, according to Decision No. 270 dated 09/02/2024 by the Secretariat of Animal and Plant Health and Inspection, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Supply (MAPA). This decision does not affect Vietnamese businesses too much. However, this can be seen as an initial barrier for Vietnamese tilapia products, and could lead to other seafood products in the Brazilian market.

Vietnam’s tilapia exports to other markets have shown a downward trend in the past 5 years. In 2023, Vietnam's tilapia exports reached over 6 million USD, down 42% compared to 2022 and down 70% compared to 2019.

The United States has been the largest consumer of Vietnamese tilapia for the past 4 years since 2019. However, in 2023, tilapia exports to the US fell sharply and reached only nearly 1 million USD, down 71% compared to 2022 and down 75% compared to 2019. In the past 5 years, the export value of tilapia to the US recorded the highest value of over 7 million USD in 2021, an increase of 2.5 times compared to 2020.

Besides the US, other countries such as the Netherlands, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand are the largest importers of tilapia from Vietnam. In 2023, tilapia exports reached over 6 million USD. The EU was the largest consumer market, with 2 million USD, the Netherlands accounted for nearly half of total Vietnamese tilapia exports to the EU. Following was the US.

Brazil recently announced a ban on imports of tilapia products from Vietnam due to concerns about a virus. However, the export value of Vietnamese tilapia to Brazil is not much. According to statistics from Vietnam Customs, tilapia exports to Brazil in the past 5 years have been almost non-existent. Brazil mainly imports basa fish from Vietnam. Up to 90% of the seafood that this country buys from Vietnam is basa fish. Therefore, the impact of Brazil's decision to ban imports of Vietnamese tilapia does not affect Vietnamese businesses too much. However, this can be seen as an initial barrier for Vietnamese tilapia products, and could lead to other seafood products in the Brazilian market.

After the ban on importing tilapia to this South American country, businesses can switch markets. Frozen tilapia is a popular product with American consumers. However, Vietnamese tilapia in the US finds it difficult to compete with Chinese tilapia, as the average price in Vietnam is much higher despite the downward trend. China is the world's largest supplier of tilapia and also the largest supplier to the US.