Vietnam-based Hoang Long Seafood Processing is working to find more buyers for the company’s pangasius in Asia, as demand from Europe has fallen due to the weaker Euro.
Hoang Long is a vertically-integrated pangasius farming and processing company, and is one of the top 10 exporters of pangasius in Vietnam. Hoang Long Seafood Processing Sales Manager Jane Hoa Tra Quynh told SeafoodSource during Seafood Expo Asia – running from 14 to 16 September at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre – that the company has seen a steep drop in demand from Europe due to its weaker currency and long transit times from Vietnam.
“We see less demand from Europe than last year or the year before the pandemic,” she said.
The problem, according to Quynh, is that the transit time from Vietnam to Europe can take as long as 40 days, and freight costs are at a high level. European customers purchase Hoang Long’s products in U.S. dollars, but sell them in Euros, meaning any fluctuations in currency between purchase and sale have an impact on company’s bottom lines.
“If the Euro drops more, they lose more money,” Quynh said. “That’s why Europe is being careful with the imported fish.”
The drop in demand from Europe is part of why the company wanted to have a presence at Seafood Expo Asia, she added.
“This year we have more people in the Asian area, especially the Southeast of Asia, like Philippines, Malasia, Singapore, and also Hong Kong,” Quynh said.
The lead time on products in Asia is only a week, and freight costs are also much lower, she added.
One thing that the company needs to work on, Quynh said, is new product types. Typically Hoang Long sells fillets and frozen pangasius, but the Asian market has shifted.
“We need to think about new products, if we want to enter this market, not only the fillet,” she said.
During the expo, she added, the company has been able to learn more about current trends, and take that information back to Vietnam.
“We need to calculate and plan to adapt to the changing market,” she said. “We need to open our eyes and open our ears, because the information is very important for business.”
Photo by Chris Chase/SeafoodSource
