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India and Vietnam are looking to enhance bilateral ties in the seafood sector, aiming to leverage India’s robust aquaculture output alongside Vietnam’s advanced processing capacity to create a complementary supply chain.
Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) Deputy Secretary General To Thi Tuong Lan said during a recent seminar that her country holds competitive advantages in advanced deep processing, value-added product development, and an extensive network of free trade agreements (FTAs). These allow Vietnam to sustain its role as a primary processing and distribution hub in the global supply chain, according to VietnamPlus.
Meanwhile, India commands distinct advantages in upstream aquaculture production and raw material volumes.
Lan suggested the two nations expand commercial cooperation in raw material sourcing, contract processing, supply chain traceability, antibiotic controls, and sustainability certifications.
Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI) Secretary General K.N. Raghavan said that Vietnam and India should move away from viewing each other as direct competitors, focusing instead on a collaborative model. He emphasized that future partnership efforts should center primarily on advanced processing technologies, robust traceability frameworks, and joint compliance against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Vietnamese Trade Counsellor in India Bui Trung Thuong added that better bilateral relations have gained fresh momentum following the introduction of an Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in early May.
In that announcement, both countries reaffirmed their goal of raising bilateral trade turnover to USD 25 billion (EUR 21.4 billion) by 2030, with fisheries considered a priority sector due to the strong structural compatibility between the two economies in terms of raw materials, processing capacity, and export networks, VietnamPlus reported.
This move aligns with data released by India’s Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), which is under India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, showing that in the financial year 2025-26 ending on 31 March this year, the South Asian country reduced its traditional dependence on the U.S. market following punitive reciprocal tariffs. While shipments to the U.S. fell 14 percent year over year to USD 2.33 billion (EUR 2 billion), overall sector growth remained resilient due to significant spikes in other major global markets, Mint reported.
Vietnam emerged as the fastest-growing destination for Indian seafood products, with export values surging 69.5 percent to USD 656.84 million (EUR 563.4 million) during the financial year.
According to Mint, the expansion reflects Vietnam’s dual role as a rising domestic consumption market and a hub for raw material processing and re-exports. Shrimp and other species from India undergo value-added processing in Vietnam before being redistributed to Europe, China, and other East Asian markets.
In the first four months of 2026, Vietnam imported seafood worth USD 168.32 million (EUR 144.4 million) from India, which was up 11.5 percent year over year.
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Toan Dao has written about Vietnam’s business community, with a focus on energy and agriculture, for a number of Vietnamese and international outlets for more than 10 years. As a contributing editor for SeafoodSource in Southeast Asia, he also covers other major seafood producers in the region including Indonesia and Thailand.
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