The reduction resulted in total earnings of US$327 million compared with the same period last year.
Vietnamese tuna products were exported to 100 countries and territories, including the US, Japan, Israel and Canada, as well as the EU and the ASEAN region.
From the first day to August 15, the tuna export value to the EU and Japan, two key export markets of local tuna products, fell by 23 per cent to $65.4 million and by 23.8 per cent to $12.8 million, respectively, against the same period last year.
Meanwhile, the nation gained year-on-year growth of 13.8 per cent in tuna export value to reach $120 million for exports to the US and 8.8 per cent to reach $21.6 million for exports to the ASEAN region.
According to the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), tuna exports by this year-end have not shown signs of recovery, while the global demand for tuna has dropped and the supply of tuna has increased.
Therefore, this year could be the third consecutive year of reductions in tuna exports, the association said.
Truong Dinh Hoe, VASEP general secretary, said the local tuna industry could face difficulty in achieving its export value target of $510 million for this year because at the year-end, it was difficult for the industry to forecast the development of the global tuna market.
The industry must wait until the end of the third quarter for a precise forecast before it could determine whether it would achieve its export target, he said.
The Directorate of Fisheries said that in the first eight months of this year, three key provinces involved in fishing for tuna, Khanh Hoa, Binh Dinh and Phu Yen, caught 13,970 tonnes of tuna in total. Of which, the supply of tuna dropped by 5 per cent in Khanh Hoa Province against the same period last year, while supply surged 13 per cent and 10 per cent in Phu Yen Province and Binh Dinh Province, respectively.
