Pangasius prices are at their highest-ever levels, with U.S. importers paying an average of USD 4.50 (EUR 4.30) per kilogram for Vietnamese pangasius in the first quarter of 2022.
The average prices of frozen fillets exported from Vietnam to China surged to between USD 2.40 and USD 3.25 (EUR 2.27 and EUR 3.10) per kilogram, up from between USD 1.90 and USD 2.70 (EUR 1.80 and EUR 2.56) per kilogram in Q1 2021.
The average prices of frozen pangasius fillets from Vietnam to the E.U. also increased, ranging between USD 2.90 and USD 3.45 (EUR 2.75 and EUR 3.27) per kilogram.
A shortage of material pangasius for processing has driven up farm-gate prices, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP). The lack of material is expected to continue at least through the end of the second quarter of the year, it said.
The previous all-time high price for pangasius fillets sold to the U.S. was achieved in 2019, according to VASEP.
In Q1 2022, the U.S. favored bigger fillets between seven and nine ounces, eight and 10 ounces, and 10 and 12 ounces; while there was a shortage of smaller sizes of three to five ounces and five to seven ounces, VASEP said.
VASEP reported farm-gate prices of pangasius were between VND 31,000 and VND 32,500 (USD 1.35 and USD 1.41, EUR 1.28 and EUR 1.34) per kilogram for fish between 0.7 and 0.8 kilograms. For larger-sized fish between 1 and 1.2 kilograms, prices ranged from VND 32,000 to VND 34,500 (USD 1.39 to USD 1.50, EUR 1.32 to EUR 1.42) per kilogram. These prices were up by between VND 8,000 and VND 10,000 (USD 0.34 and USD 0.43, EUR 0.33 and EUR 0.41) per kilogram compared to the same period last year and are up by 20 percent from the end of 2021, according to VASEP.
New farming area in Q1 declined in Vietnam by around 6 percent year-over year. The total farming areas in major pangasius producing provinces – including Dong Thap and Vinh Long – remained at lower levels as well. However, the country’s pangasius production over the first quarter rose 8.8 percent year-on-year to 350,000 metric tons (MT), data from the Vietnamese General Department of Fisheries showed.
Photo courtesy of VASEP
