According to Vietnam Customs, Vietnam’s tilapia exports (including red tilapia) reached over US$63 million in the first eight months of 2025, up 174 per cent from the same period last year.
This figure exceeded Vietnam’s tilapia export value over the past five years, since 2020. The US remained the largest importer, accounting for 62 per cent of Vietnam’s tilapia exports.
In the same period, red tilapia exports reached US$11 million, down one per cent year-on-year, with the US market making up 25 per cent of the share.
Tilapia exports (excluding red tilapia) reached US$52 million, a sharp increase of 359 per cent from last year, of which 70 per cent was shipped to the US.
According to the International Trade Center (ITC), the US is the world’s largest tilapia consumer, while China is the biggest supplier to both the US and the global market.
As of July 2025, tilapia has become the most consumed whitefish in the US, surpassing cod and pangasius. Frozen tilapia fillets (HS code 030461) are the top product consumed by US buyers.
In the first seven months of this year, the US imported more than US$1.1 billion worth of whitefish, up eight per cent year-on-year.
Of this, frozen tilapia fillets (HS code 030461) alone accounted for US$262 million, up 19 per cent from the same period in 2024, making up 23 per cent of the US’s total whitefish imports.
Vietnam is currently the second-largest supplier of frozen tilapia fillets to the US, after China. According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), this reflects the strong demand and growth potential for tilapia products.
VASEP said that although Vietnam faces challenges in competing directly with major suppliers such as China, Indonesia, Egypt, and Brazil to become a key global source of tilapia, many Vietnamese enterprises, alongside pangasius, have recently started farming and producing tilapia for export.