Pangasius exports from Vietnam have declined sharply in all major markets thus far in 2020 due to the impacts from the coronavirus pandemic.
According to latest data from Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), Vietnam exported pangasius worth USD 210.3 million (EUR 197 million) in January and February, 32.1 percent lower year-on-year.
Exports to China, the world’s top buyer of pangasius, were hit the hardest in the period as restaurants and supermarkets were closed and transportation was restricted as part of China’s efforts to contain the virus. Vietnam experienced a drop of 52 percent in the value of its pangasius exports in the first two months of 2020 as compared to the same period in 2019, with significant drops in pangasius shipments via both ocean shipping and land border trucking routes.
As China appears to have brought the outbreak under control, it has gradually allowed the reopening of business operations, and some Vietnamese exporters are hoping the Chinese market will recover at least somewhat by April. VASEP said its hope is that China ramps up to at least half its pre-coronavirus monthly average export value, with expectations that the recovery rate rises to 70 percent in May and 100 percent in June.
Sales to Vietnam’s other major markets, the U.S. and the European Union, have also dropped off. Its pangasius exports to the U.S. dropped 27 percent to USD 38.6 million (EUR 35.7 million), and exports to the E.U. dropped 40 percent year-on-year to USD 26 million (EUR 24 million). And prices being paid by importers in those countries are lower, despite the fact that rates are already down 10 to 15 percent compared to last year, according to VASEP.
But VASEP is hoping a surge in demand for pangasius will take place after the crisis passes. Because pollock prices rose this year, importers in the E.U. may consider replacing part of their pollock purchases with pangasius, especially as pangasius is included in the new free trade agreement between the E.U. and Vietnam. VASEP also expects U.S. importers will increase their pangasius purchases as current stockpiles are reduced due to higher demand for the whitefish as American shoppers have increased their seafood buying at retail.
VASEP forecasts exports of pangasius will increase slightly beginning in the third quarter of this year. That is likely to result in a shortage of pangasius material in the first quarter of 2021, as farmers have cut back their production due to the currently depressed global pangasius market.
Photo courtesy of VASEP
