The value of Vietnam’s pangasius exports dropped for the fifth month in a row in July, as shipments to the United States and European Union fell sharply, according to Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
The country’s pangasius exports in the month were worth USD 170.2 million (EUR 153.3 million), down 12.7 percent from July 2018. In the first seven months, Vietnam exported pangasius worth USD 1.13 billion (EUR 1.02 billion), dropping 5.5 percent from a year earlier, VASEP said on 21 August.
Exports to the U.S., which was the biggest buyer of pangasius from Vietnam last year, decreased 56.2 percent year-on-year to USD 25.6 million (EUR 23.06 million) in July. The shipments of pangasius from Vietnam to this market are expected to continue falling in the coming months as the U.S. has set up numerous technical and commercial barriers impeding the importation of whitefish species from Vietnam and China, said VASEP.
In the first seven months, Vietnam exported pangasius worth USD 167.6 million (EUR 151 million) to the U.S., down 34.3 percent from 2018.
Vietnam also saw the value of its pangasius exports to the E.U. drop 16.3 percent in July to USD 18.2 million (EUR 16.4 million), VASEP said. Its exports to the United Kingdom, the second-largest market for pangasius in the E.U., declined 10 percent in the month.
But overall through the first seven months of 2019, Vietnam’s pangasius exports to the E.U. have totaled USD 156.7 million (EUR 141.1 million) in value, up 12.6 percent year-on-year.
In contrast to downward trends in the U.S. and E.U., exports of pangasius from Vietnam to China and Hong Kong rose 71.1 percent year-on-year to USD 67.7 million (EUR 61 million) in July, making it Vietnam’s biggest pangasius market for the month, VASEP said.
Between January and July, Vietnam exported pangasius worth USD 320 million (EUR 288.2 million) to China and Hong Kong, up 10.4 percent from the same period last year.
Photo courtesy of Navico
