The value of U.S. pangasius imports from Vietnam totaled USD 111 million (EUR 73.5 million) in the first 10 months of 2009, up 71 percent from the same period last year, the Vietnamese Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) reported over the weekend.
That represents 10 percent of Vietnam’s total pangasius export earnings, according to the industry group.
In October alone, the United States imported USD 15.5 million (EUR 10.3 million) worth of pangasius from Vietnam, up 2.5 percent from the same month last year.
Vietnamese pangasius exports to Germany, the Netherlands and Poland also showed signs of recovery in October.
However, exports to Spain, Vietnam’s second largest pangasius export market, were down 0.8 percent, to USD 104 million (EUR 68.8 million), through October.
Exports to the European Union also dropped 7 percent, to USD 454 million (EUR 300.5 million), while exports to Russia and the Ukraine plunged 95 percent and 82 percent, respectively.
Expected to be valued at USD 1.4 billion (EUR 926.7 million) this year, Vietnam’s pangasius exports have increased 50-fold in volume and 65-fold in value in just the past decade, according to VASEP.
