Germany, once one of Vietnam’s top export markets for pangasius, imported 12 percent less in 2014, in terms of value, than in the previous year.
Germany is now only the fourth-largest market for the product, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
Last year was the fourth straight year of declining exports to Germany, reported VASEP, a trend that may be attributed to negative media reports about the product’s safety that aired several years ago. However, VASEP says that Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification for the country’s pangasius farms “has created a better image for pangasius in the mind of German consumers.”
According to VASEP, frozen fillets account for 95 percent of total pangasius consumption in Germany, which bought USD 39.76 million (EUR 35.6 million) worth of the product in 2014, down 12 percent compared with 2013 and down from EUR 69 million (USD 77 million) in 2010.
In terms of volume, pangasius exports to Germany in 2013 (19,400 metric tons) were down 50 percent from 2010. The average price for frozen pangasius fillets in Germany in 2013 was EUR 1.92 (USD 2.14) per kg, down EUR 2.24 (USD 2.50) per kg in 2012.
Overall, Vietnam’s pangasius exports increased 0.2 percent in 2014 to USD 1.8 billion (EUR 1.6 billion), representing 22 percent of Vietnam’s overall seafood exports, in value terms, according to VASEP. Despite a weakening market in Germany, the EU and the United States remain the top markets for pangasius.
