Vietnamese tuna exports to Japan have plunged sharply as the item has been levied with high import tax of 6.4-7.2 percent by Japan, according to Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) on Wednesday.

In comparison, Thailand and the Philippines' tuna exports to Japan were exempted from import tax, local Vietnam Economic Times (VET) quoted VASEP as saying.

According to VASEP, the high import tax together with high input price left Vietnamese tuna products suffer from high output prices, making it difficult to compete with other countries' products in Japanese market.

For years, Japan had been Vietnam's third largest tuna consumers. In 2012, Vietnam earned 54 million U.S. dollars from exporting tuna to Japan. However, since 2013, Vietnam has seen continuous drop in tuna export revenue to Japan, hitting nearly 20 million U.S. dollars in 2016.

Last year, tuna export revenue to Japan accounted for merely 4 percent of Vietnam's total tuna export revenue, down nearly 7 percent compared to that of 2015, said VASEP, adding that Japan has fallen from the third to the sixth place among Vietnam's top tuna importers.

Currently, Vietnamese tuna accounted for a remarkably small proportion in Japanese market, with 0.5 percent of fresh and frozen tuna market share as well as 2 percent of canned tuna.

In order to help improve the situation, VASEP has urged the Ministry of Industry and Trade to bring Vietnamese tuna to a tariff removal list during the negotiation process of Vietnam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (VJEPA), reported VET.