International market demand has promoted volume over integrity for the seafood import-export sector, but dig deeper and you’ll uncover the hidden risks of seafood sourcing from Vietnam—where enforcement is fractured, and fake compliance is easy to manufacture. Factories are scaling and shipments are growing, yet oversight remains minimal, especially across many Vietnam seafood suppliers. Unscrupulous seafood from Vietnam is sometimes entering the U.S. food supply unnoticed, which is a silent and systemic breakdown of an international trade system that relies on paperwork and not real-world compliance. I asked Nikita Yakupov, co-founder of Vietnamia, where most U.S. seafood traders make their biggest mistake. He didn’t hesitate: “They trust paperwork over reality.” As a sourcing expert with ground-level access to suppliers in Vietnam, his blunt answer is exactly what serious buyers need to hear.
The Growth of Vietnamese Seafood Exports
Vietnam’s position in global seafood exports is experiencing rapid growth, driven by strong government backing and aggressive expansion from top Vietnam seafood suppliers. In the first four months of 2025, shrimp exports surged 30% year‑on‑year—$1.27 billion in value—including $330.8 million in April alone—after buyers rushed to beat a looming 46% tariff deadline (April 9 to July 9). Vietnam pangasius exports to the U.S. reached $632.7million in the same period (+9%) but flattened in April at $167.7 million as tariff risk increased. Overall, Vietnam's seafood exports to the U.S. reached an estimated total of $500 million in Q1 2025, which was up from ~$3.3 billion total exports (+21%).
However, volatility was coming into view: VASEP warned that ~37,500 tons were already underway to market, and 31,500 tons were still scheduled to be exported in April-May—all subject to total duties as high as 75%, consisting of both countervailing levies and anti-dumping duties. Despite these pressures, shrimp export volume to the U.S. is nearly $2.84 billion in value (+24%) up to July as volumes spiked before the tariff window closed. The numbers tell a clear story: tariffs may delay, but they don’t eliminate export volume—but they crack the foundation of traceable, compliant trade.
Tariffs don’t just raise costs—they distort behavior across Vietnam’s seafood sector—volumes crash, leaving exporters with excess stock or forcing them to reroute through third countries like Thailand or China. Product mixes shift quickly too: when raw shrimp becomes too expensive, processed squid or other loophole products take center stage. While Vietnamese exporters talk of diversifying to Japan, Korea, or the EU, market entry takes time, and the reality is clear: tariffs don’t just change the price—they shake the foundation of compliance itself.
Supplier Verification & Due Diligence
“Even the most polished Vietnam seafood exporters—the ones with perfect English and beautiful websites—can be hiding serious sourcing risks in Vietnam’s seafood industry,” says Nikita Yakupov. “A lot of first-time seafood buyers importing from Vietnam fall for that façade. They don’t realize the production was outsourced, the frozen seafood blocks were reprocessed, and the paperwork came from someone else’s operation entirely.” These buyers often get seduced by slick emails, glossy websites, and attractive price tags in USD. What they don’t see is what’s happening behind closed doors: production gets subcontracted to unverified sub-factories, frozen seafood from Vietnam is reprocessed without temperature logs, and supposedly “certified” shipments ride on borrowed documentation. “The sample you approved? It probably didn’t come from the place filling your container. Unless you're here in Vietnam watching lot codes, checking raw material intake, and verifying cold chain compliance in real time, you're playing seafood roulette with Vietnam suppliers,” Yakupov warns.
Logistics, Shipping & Cold Chain Risks
Shipping frozen seafood from Vietnam to the U.S. isn’t just about logistics—it’s a cold chain gamble that few exporters truly control. Expect 20–25 days transit by sea to West Coast ports like Los Angeles, and up to 40 for East Coast delivery. Air freight trims that to 3–7 days, but cuts deep into already-thin margins. Many Vietnamese seafood suppliers promise cold chain compliance—few can prove it when the container door swings open in L.A. Exporters continue quoting CIF pricing (Cost, Insurance, and Freight) to mask risk from U.S. buyers—until it’s your container that’s flagged.
Compliance and Documentation — What the U.S. Requires
FDA Registration: Are There FDA Requirements for Vietnamese Seafood?
Any foreign facility exporting seafood from Vietnam to the U.S. is required to register in the FDA's Food Facility Registration System. For Vietnamese seafood exporters, this isn’t just a box to check—this registration is the first layer of protection that compliance offers. If a Vietnamese seafood supplier is FDA-registered and compliant with a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan, that supplier is exempt from the Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP).
HACCP Certification
Vietnamese processors must implement a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan, as required by 21 CFR 123, to export seafood to the U.S. This plan monitors biological, chemical, and physical hazards from the point of catch to packaging. Liability lies jointly with both the Vietnamese processor and their U.S. importer. Recently, the FDA has also leaned on Accredited Third-Party Certification and Advanced Notice for Importer of Record shipments to ensure safer, faster entry for Vietnam-sourced seafood. The agency is now expanding its fastest track yet through the Voluntary Qualified Importer Program (VQIP).
Import Alert System
FDA manages multiple Seafood Import Alerts—e.g., #16‑127 for chloramphenicol and #16‑129 for nitrofurans—which detain shipments without physical examination if banned substances are detected. In 2025 alone, 11 shrimp shipments were refused for antibiotic residues and veterinary drugs—some from Vietnam.
Mislabeling or Banned Antibiotics
FDA routinely inspects Vietnam seafood shipments for misbranding and drug residues. Misbranding through either species substitution or ice-glazing (increasing the weight of the fish) violates the FD&C Act; meanwhile, drug residues are categorized by 'prohibited' (drugs like chloramphenicol and nitrofurans) or 'acceptable' forms (blocking the use of fluoroquinolones). In prior FDA surveillance data, 25% of the basa, shrimp, and catfish samples collected and analyzed had residues and constituted an import alert, refusal, or detainment. “We’ve seen ice-glazed shrimp sold at inflated weights, mislabeled species, and containers with banned antibiotics,” Nikita Yakupov warns. “If you're not testing and verifying your seafood from Vietnam independently, you’re just hoping nothing gets caught.”
Final Word: Don’t Let Polite Emails Fool You
Without boots on the ground, there’s no way to confirm if the Vietnam seafood supplier you visited is the one actually processing your goods. This is the core failure in many Vietnam seafood sourcing strategies. Due diligence can’t be outsourced to trust or email replies. It has to be local, verified, and ongoing—or you’re one shipment away from an import alert.
