Even against the background of China's "Zero COVID" epidemic prevention policy, Vietnam's export of aquatic products to China has shown a good momentum of growth, making a significant contribution to the success of the fishery industry.

Over the years, China has become one of the most important "billion dollar" markets for Vietnamese aquatic products. In 2019, Vietnam's exports of aquatic products to China reached $1.2 billion, making a new record.

Subsequently, due to the impact of the COVID-19, Vietnam's fishery exports to China continued to decrease and fell below $1 billion in 2021.

However, since the beginning of 2022, Vietnam's exports of aquatic products to China have rebounded and continue to recover. According to the General Administration of Customs, Vietnam's exports of aquatic products to China reached $1.3 billion by the end of October 2022, up 82 percent year on year, again setting a new record.

China's persistence to the "Zero COVID" epidemic prevention policy has severely affected the import and production of aquatic products, resulting in a severe shortage of raw materials for aquatic products in the country. Due to this reason, Chinese import demand for aquatic products has increased significantly this year. In the first nine months of 2022, China's imports of aquatic products reached $13.5 billion, up 40 percent year on year, according to Vietnam's import and Export Bureau under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The import and Export Bureau also believes that Chinese aquatic product imports maintained a growing trend in the third quarter of 2022 and will continue to increase in the last two months of 2022.

Shrimp is one of China's major aquatic imports with the strongest growth this year. In the first eight months of this year, China's shrimp imports reached $3.77 billion, up 66.3 percent from the same period in 2021.

Thanks to strong growth in Chinese imports, Vietnam's shrimp exports to China are growing strongly. According to statistics from China's General Administration of Customs, Vietnam's shrimp exports to China reached $198 million in the first eight months of this year, a 98.5 percent increase over the same period in 2021.