Six Vietnamese pangasius companies are seeking permission to export to the United States. Currently 13 pangasius companies from Vietnam are permitted to export to the U.S., so the approval of six additional firms to the list of approved exporters would nearly double Vietnam’s total.
Vietnam’s National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (NAFIQAD) has sent the applications of the concerned companies to the U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) for consideration, NAFIQAD Deputy Director Le Ba Anh told The Saigon Times.
NAFIQAD is also seeking approval from FSIS to add new types of pangasius products to the list of what is allowed to be shipped to the U.S. At present, most of Vietnam’s pangasius products sent to the U.S. are primary processed products, but NAFIQAD is applying to the U.S. to grant it permission for deeper processed and value-added pangasius products to be exported.
In November 2019, FSIS announced that Vietnam, Thailand, and China were eligible to export siluriformes fish, including pangasius and basa, to the U.S.
The U.S. agency postponed an on-site audit in Vietnam in 2020 due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
FSIS conducted an online audit from 23 March to 28 April, 2021, before concluding in October that the country’s inspection system for siluriformes fish, mainly pangasius, continues to meet the U.S. import requirements, NAFIQAD said.
In 2021, Vietnam exported pangasius worth USD 370.6 million (EUR 335.8 million) to the U.S., a doubling of 2020’s total by value.
Vinh Hoan, Vietnam’s leading pangasius exporter exported pangasius products worth VND 627 billion (USD 27.5 million, EUR 25 million) to the U.S., a 221 percent jump year-on-year, accounting for 58.3 percent of its total sales.
Despite high demand in the U.S., high freight costs to the U.S. are impeding Vietnam’s efforts to increase its seafood exports. Shipping rates and availability have been further compromised by an increase in oil prices due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and an ongoing traffic jam at U.S. ports.
Photo courtesy of Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers
