The spread of the COVID-19 virus, commonly referred to as coronavirus, has caused a delay in exports of pangasius from Vietnam to China, the largest market for the fish from Mekong Delta, driving down material prices.
Pangasius sellers contacted by SeafoodSource provided different levels of prices, but all of them agreed the sector is struggling as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said in a statement on 19 February that the average material price of pangasius in mid-February stood at VND 19,500 (USD 0.84, EUR 0.77) per kilogram, a decline of around 43 percent compared with February last year, when the going rate soared as high as VND 34,500 (USD 1.48, EUR 1.37) per kilogram.
Other sources were not as optimistic as VASEP. The Ministry of Industry and Trade said in a report released 14 February the COVID-19 crisis has put negative pressure on domestic prices of pangasius material, with prices falling between VND 18,000 and VND 18,500 (USD 0.77 to USD 0.79, EUR 0.71 to EUR 0.73) per kilogram for fish sized 0.7 to 0.9 kilograms in An Giang Province in the week ending 13 February. The prices were about 40 percent lower year-on-year and 3 percent lower than the previous week. The rates for fish of the bigger size (more than one-kilogram-sized fish) were even lower, at between VND 17,500 and VND 17,800 (USD 0.75 to USD 0.76, EUR 0.69 to EUR 0.71) per kilogram.
A sales executive in a pangasius company based in An Giang even provided a worse picture. He told SeafoodSource on 19 February that the pangasius prices in Mekong Delta are ranging from VND 16,000 to VND 17,000 (USD 0.68 to USD 0.73, EUR 0.63 to EUR 0.67) per kilogram, incurring losses of around VND 5,000 (USD 0.21, EUR 0.20) per kilogram for farmers in the region.
His company has not been affected too much as a result of a successful market diversification strategy, he said. But those solely focusing on Chinese market are “facing a lot of difficulties.”
His company’s export volumes to China are expected to decrease by about 10 percent this month as some ports in China have reduced operations due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the executive said.
Processors with material supply coming from their own farms, such as Vinh Hoan and Navico, will not be hit too hard, he added.
Vietnam exported pangasius worth USD 622.7 million (EUR 575.6 million) to China (including Hong Kong) in 2019, an increase of 28.8 percent year-on-year, and accounting for 31 percent of Vietnam’s total export value of pangasius, VASEP said.
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