The output of pangasius in Vietnam fell in the third consecutive month in March as compared with the same month in 2019.
The latest data from the General Statistics Office (GSO) estimates that Vietnam will have produced 74,700 metric tons (MT) of pangasius in March 2020, down 8.8 percent from a year ago.
The twin impacts of the prolonged low prices and the COVID-19 outbreak have had a drastiic impact on pangasius farmers in Vietnam, discouraging them from stocking their ponds, GSO said.
In the first quarter of 2020, Vietnam is estimated to have produced 424,800 MT of pangasius, down 3.7 percent year-on-year. The fish was mainly produced in Mekong Delta provinces Dong Thap (97,800 MT, 1.1 percent lower year-on-year), An Giang (77,800 MT, down 4.7 percent), and Can Tho City (33,200 MT, down 8.9 percent).
According to data from Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), Vietnam exported pangasius worth USD 210.3 million (EUR 197 million) during January and February, a significant drop of 32.1 percent year-on-year.
VASEP forecasts pangasius export totals will increase slightly beginning in the third quarter of this year. It predicted a shortage of pangasius material in the first quarter of 2021 due to decreased levels of farming in the interim, causing production to slide.
Meanwhile, Vietnam produced estimated 18,800 MT of giant tiger shrimp in March, rising 3.8 percent from March 2019, and 8,700 MT of whiteleg shrimp, 10.2 percent higher year-on-year.
In the first three months of this year, the country produced estimated 45,000 MT of giant tiger shrimp, up 3.7 percent year-on-year, and 49,800 MT of whiteleg shrimp, increasing 8.5 percent from last year.
In total, Vietnam produced an estimated 502,200 MT of seafood in March, edging up 1.2 percent year-on-year, including 160,100 MT of farmed seafood and 342,100 MT of marine seafood.
The country’s estimated seafood output in the first quarter rose 2 percent to 1.5 million MT, including 662,100 MT of farmed seafood, up 2.1 percent year-on-year; and 841,000 MT of marine seafood, 1.9 percent higher than the same period last year, GSO data showed.
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