Vietnam’s pangasius exports surged in March, following a decline in February, according to Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
The country exported pangasius worth USD 137 million (EUR 115.8 million) in the month, up 11 percent year-on-year. The increase helped Vietnam’s pangasius export value rise by 0.6 percent to USD 336 million (EUR 284 million) in the first quarter.
VASEP attributed the surge in March to improved export activities to China.
In the week ending 31 March, processors in the Mekong Delta continued to purchase material pangasius for the Chinese market. They preferred fish with bigger sizes, ranging from 1.3 kilograms to 1.8 kilograms per fish, which had an average price of VND 21,500 (USD 0.93, EUR 0.78) per kilogram, an industry source said.
The demand from the processors was stable in the first week of April, with big companies such as Vinh Hoan and Bien Dong seeking to buy fish of between VND 21,500 and VND 22,000 (USD 0.93 and USD 0.95, EUR 0.78 and EUR 0.80) per kilogram, the source added.
The value of Vietnam’s pangasius exports in February dropped 17 percent year-on-year to USD 90 million (EUR 76 million), mainly because Vietnam’s biggest holiday – the Lunar New Year festival – took place from 10 to 16 February. In the first two months of 2021, the country exported pangasius worth USD 214 million (EUR 180.8 million), up 1.7 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 1.26 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, according to VASEP.
Overall, Vietnam exported seafood worth USD 640 million (EUR 540.8 million) in March, up 1.6 percent from a year earlier, bringing the total export value of seafood products to USD 1.64 billion (EUR 1.39 billion) in the first quarter, up 3 percent year-on-year.
Photo courtesy of VASEP
