Vietnam Becomes Singapore's Third Largest Seafood Supplier as Trade Expands

Vietnam moves into Singapore's top three

Vietnam became Singapore's third largest seafood supplier in the first nine months of 2025, with seafood imports reaching SGD 88.6 million, an increase of 14.5 percent from the same period in 2024. The advance placed Vietnam behind Malaysia and Indonesia and continued a climb from sixth place in 2023.

According to data attributed to Singapore's Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, Vietnam rose to fifth place in 2024 and held fourth place in the first quarter of 2025 before reaching third place over the first nine months. The progression reflects expanding sales and growing confidence among Singaporean buyers in the quality and branding of Vietnamese seafood.

As of January 1, 2026, the figures describe trade during the first nine months of 2025. No figures for the full year were given. The results show seafood becoming a stronger part of an expanding commercial relationship, alongside growth in electrical machinery and optical instruments.

How Vietnam climbed the supplier rankings

Vietnam's rise took place over several reporting periods, with each step bringing its seafood exporters closer to the leading suppliers serving Singapore. The progression was:

• 2023: Vietnam ranked sixth among Singapore's seafood suppliers.
• 2024: Vietnam moved to fifth place.
• First quarter of 2025: Vietnam held fourth place.
• First nine months of 2025: Vietnam reached third place.

Vietnam's use of free trade agreements and active export promotion policies helped businesses compete in Singapore. Coordination between government ministries, local authorities and industry associations also supported seafood companies as they worked to meet the market's demanding standards.

Those efforts connect trade policy with the practical requirements of selling food abroad. Exporters need access to buyers, but they also need products that satisfy expectations for quality, safety and presentation. Vietnam's progress reflects both its trade strategies and the strengthening economic relationship between the two countries.

Seafood grows within a wider trade expansion

Vietnam remained Singapore's 10th largest trading partner in the first nine months of 2025. Total bilateral trade reached SGD 29.1 billion, rising 25.5 percent from the same period in 2024.

Singapore's imports from Vietnam grew faster, increasing 38.3 percent to SGD 8.6 billion. Vietnam recorded a trade surplus of nearly SGD 3.1 billion when the calculation was based on goods originating from each country. On that basis, Vietnam sold more goods to Singapore than it bought from Singapore.

Seafood's increase of 14.5 percent was part of this broader expansion. Electrical machinery and optical instruments also recorded significant gains, showing that the relationship was growing across several types of goods rather than depending on seafood alone.

The range of products illustrates how the two economies complement each other and how their supply chains are becoming more closely connected within the region. For seafood businesses, the wider growth provides a setting in which commercial links between Vietnamese producers and Singaporean buyers are becoming stronger.

Why Singapore is an attractive food market

Singapore imports approximately 90 percent of its food supply because it produces very little agricultural output of its own. That reliance on imports creates a substantial opportunity for countries such as Vietnam that produce seafood for overseas markets.

Singapore's high income per person also supports demand for premium food. Buyers are willing to pay for superior taste, safety and presentation, making quality a central part of competition. Vietnamese businesses must meet those expectations consistently to keep customers and build their brands.

Singapore's relatively small but diverse population gives exporters another opportunity: testing new products before taking them to larger international markets. Companies can use sales there to refine their products and understand how different consumers respond.

Success in Singapore can therefore serve two purposes. It brings access to a market with strong demand for imported food and can signal that a product is ready for a wider international audience. Those opportunities help explain why Vietnamese exporters are investing in the relationship.

Direct purchasing strengthens business ties

Kenneth Chia, president of the Seafood Industries Association Singapore, described a relationship that has developed substantially over the past two decades. Many Singaporean companies now regard Vietnam as a key sourcing market.

Several firms have stationed their own staff in Vietnam to buy products directly, instead of relying solely on intermediaries. An intermediary is a business that stands between the producer and the buyer. Direct purchasing allows Singaporean firms to work more closely with the companies supplying their seafood.

Chia said Vietnamese businesses had earned confidence by meeting buyers' requirements. He described the trust Singaporean consumers place in their products:

"Singaporean consumers use and trust Vietnamese products. Many Vietnamese companies have met their requirements very well," said Chia.

Having Singaporean staff in Vietnam supports better quality control and smoother logistics. It also helps build stronger business relationships and mutual trust, connecting the buying process more closely with production and delivery.

Fish fillets lead, while other categories accelerate

Frozen and chilled fish fillets and meat recorded the highest import value among Vietnam's seafood categories in Singapore. Imports in that group reached SGD 45.4 million in the first nine months of 2025, up 8.1 percent from the same period a year earlier.

Vietnam held a 30.3 percent share of Singapore's total imports in that segment. That share refers specifically to frozen and chilled fish fillets and meat, while the SGD 88.6 million figure covers seafood imports from Vietnam across the categories described.

Processed and unprocessed crustaceans and molluscs also contributed to growth. Import values in those two categories rose by 22.7 percent and 99.3 percent respectively. Their faster growth shows that Vietnam's advance extended beyond its leading fish fillet category.

Malaysia and Indonesia remained Singapore's top two seafood suppliers. China, Japan and India also presented competitive challenges, particularly in crustaceans and molluscs. Vietnamese exporters therefore face pressure to maintain high standards as they seek to protect existing sales and increase their market share.

Quality must cover the whole production chain

Cao Xuan Thang, Vietnam's trade counsellor in Singapore, described Singapore as an open market that diversifies its sources of supply to protect food security. Buying from several suppliers helps Singapore maintain access to food, while giving exporters from different countries a chance to compete.

Thang's advice focused on quality management across the entire value chain. The value chain means the connected stages through which seafood passes, from farming and processing to its sale and delivery. His recommendation covered aquaculture, processing, traceability, sustainable farming and the use of advanced technology:

"To remain competitive, he advised Vietnamese exporters to strengthen quality management across the entire value chain, from aquaculture and processing to traceability and sustainable farming, while adopting advanced technologies," said Thang.

Aquaculture means farming aquatic animals, including fish and shellfish. Traceability means being able to follow a product's origin and movement through the production and supply process. Both are part of the broader quality work Thang urged exporters to strengthen.

Vietnamese companies must therefore pay attention to what happens before seafood reaches the buyer, as well as to the finished product. Consistent management across farming and processing is central to meeting Singapore's requirements and sustaining confidence in Vietnamese goods.

Digital tools and products for restaurants

Thang also urged businesses to pursue digital transformation by adopting e-commerce platforms and modern payment solutions. His advice connected the use of these tools with higher productivity and lower costs.

For seafood exporters, that means treating technology as part of the work of modernizing the business and responding to changing international buyer demands. Quality improvements and digital systems form complementary parts of the effort to remain competitive.

Chia recommended investment in research and development to create seafood products with added value for Singapore's restaurant and food service sector. His proposal focused on products tailored to the needs of those customers.

That approach gives Vietnamese businesses a further way to develop the market: refining what they sell for specific commercial buyers, alongside maintaining the standards that have helped them gain trust. Products designed for restaurants and food service businesses could also strengthen trade ties between the two countries.

Singapore provides access beyond its own market

Singapore's role extends beyond buying seafood for domestic consumption. As a key ASEAN partner and a global transshipment gateway, it offers advanced port facilities, warehousing, logistics services and financial infrastructure.

Transshipment means moving goods through a transport hub on their way to another destination. Singapore's position makes it an attractive partner for Vietnamese seafood businesses seeking customers beyond Southeast Asia.

Closer cooperation can help those businesses distribute products to regional and global markets more efficiently. Using Singapore's logistics capabilities can reduce shipping times and costs, supporting the competitiveness of Vietnamese seafood abroad.

Vietnam's rise to third place therefore carries commercial opportunities in both sales and distribution. Sustaining that progress will require the same combination highlighted by industry representatives: reliable quality, stronger production management, modern technology and products suited to buyers' needs.

At a Glance

• Vietnam became Singapore's third largest seafood supplier in the first nine months of 2025, behind Malaysia and Indonesia.
• Seafood imports from Vietnam reached SGD 88.6 million, up 14.5 percent from the same period in 2024.
• Bilateral trade reached SGD 29.1 billion, an increase of 25.5 percent, with Vietnam remaining Singapore's 10th largest trading partner.
• Singapore's imports from Vietnam rose 38.3 percent to SGD 8.6 billion.
• Frozen and chilled fish fillets and meat reached SGD 45.4 million, with Vietnam holding 30.3 percent of that import segment.
• Singapore imports approximately 90 percent of its food supply.
• Industry advice focused on quality, traceability, sustainable farming, digital tools and products tailored to restaurants and food service businesses.
• Singapore's ports and logistics services offer Vietnamese exporters access to wider regional and global markets.