Vietnam saw its pangasius export value recover in January following sharp declines in sales last year, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
The country exported pangasius worth USD 123.5 million (EUR 102.4 million) in January, up 21.7 percent from a year earlier. The export value of pangasius frozen fillets soared 54 percent year-on-year while sales of whole-fish pangasius jumped 162 percent compared with January 2020.
The increase in sales was seen in many major markets such as the United States, up 51 percent year-on-year; Mexico, up 73 percent; Australia, up 45 percent; and Canada, up 42 percent. VASEP noted that the surge in sales to Mexico, Australia, and Canada was attributable to tax incentives under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), of which Vietnam is also a member. CPTPP, which included Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Mexico, Vietnam, Peru, Chile, Brunei, and Malaysia, became effective for Vietnam in January 2019.
Sales to other markets such as Brazil, Colombia, the United Kingdom, and Russia also grew by between 37 and 129 percent in the first month of this year.
Meanwhile, the value of Vietnam’s pangasius exports in February dropped 17 percent year-on-year to USD 90 million (EUR 74.6 million), mainly because Vietnam’s biggest holiday – the Lunar new year festival – took place from 10 to 16 February.
In the first two months, the country shipped pangasius worth USD 214 million (EUR 177.4 million), up 1.7 percent year-on-year.
According to data from Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, the average farm-gate price of pangasius in the Mekong Delta Province of An Giang in the week ending 18 February was VND 19,000 (USD 0.82, EUR 0.68) per kilogram for the sizes of 0.85 to 1.1 kilograms per fish, surging by up to 5.6 percent from a year ago. For sizes of more than 1.2 kilograms per fish, the price was VND 19,500 (USD 0.84, EUR 0.70) per kilogram, an increase of up to 9.6 percent year-on-year.
In 2020, Vietnam produced 1.56 million metric tons (MT) of pangasius, a growth of 2.6 percent year-on-year. However, the export value was USD 1.49 billion (EUR 1.23 billion) in 2020, down 25.5 percent from 2019.
There were 340 pangasius exporters in Vietnam last year, shipping their cargoes to 136 markets globally, VASEP has said.
Photo courtesy of Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers
