Vietnam produced 741,800 metric tons (MT) of seafood in August, up 1.3 percent year-on-year, with the increase seen in both farmed and wild-catch output, according to newly-published data from the country's General Statistics Office (GSO).
Vietnam's total production from aquaculture in August was estimated at 405,900 MT, a slight growth of 0.1 percent year-on-year. That total was comprised of an estimated 277,800 MT of fish, up 1.0 percent from a year ago, and an estimated 87,500 MT of shrimp, down by 2.2 percent year-on-year.
Farmers of pangasius, one of the country’s key species, continued to encounter losses of up to VND 5,000 (USD 0.22, EUR 0.18) for every kilogram of pangasius sold. The material prices in the month were from VND 18,000 to VND 18,500 (USD 0.78 to USD 0.80, EUR 0.65 to USD 0.67) per kilogram, GSO said.
Vietnam produced an estimated 139,000 MT of pangasius in the month, down 3.6 percent year-on-year.
The output of whiteleg shrimp also went down 1.1 percent to an estimated 61,700 MT in August. The production of the black tiger shrimp shrank 6 percent year-on-year to 24,100 MT in the month.
GSO said the material prices of whiteleg shrimp in the first half of August fell sharply to the lowest levels since the beginning of this year.
Vietnam’s wild-catch fisheries output in August stood at 335,900 MT, up 2.8 percent year-on-year, including 252,000 MT of fish, up 3 percent year-on-year; and 12,600 MT of shrimp, 1.6 percent higher year-on-year.
Over January-August of 2020, Vietnam produced an estimated 5.39 million MT of seafood, up 1.5 percent from the same period in 2019. That total comprised of an estimated 2.82 million MT from farming, increasing 1.2 percent year-on-year; and an estimated 2.57 million MT of wild-caught output, 1.8 percent higher year-on-year.
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