Initial estimates of the Vietnam’s 2018 pangasius export totals show shipments soaring 29.2 percent year-on-year.
The value of Vietnam’s 2018 pangasius exports is being estimated at USD 2.3 billion (EUR 2.02 billion), as sales to major markets continued to rise significantly, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
Vietnam has experienced robust growth in its pangasius exports, which reached USD 2.04 billion (EUR 1.79 billion) between January and November, up 25.2 percent from the same period in 2017.
Last year, China overthrew the United States to become the biggest buyer of pangasius from Vietnam. But the U.S. has reclaimed its top position, at least in the first 11 months of this year, when exports to the U.S. were worth USD 494.3 million (EUR 433.5 million), jumping up 54.6 percent from the same period in 2017. China’s purchases were lower, at USD 482.8 million (EUR 423.4 million) – but still 23.9 percent higher than the same period in 2017. VASEP said that lower demand could be the result of China increasing its own pangasius production to serve domestic demand.
The year-on-year surge from China in the first 11 months of this year was lower than the 40-percent increase gained in the same period last year. However, many exporters in Vietnam still see China as a promising market in which to expand pangasius exports, given the huge consumption capacity of the world’s most populous country and the favorable transportation connections between the two neighbors.
The European Union was the third-largest buyer of Vietnamese pangasius in the first 11 months of 2018. It imported pangasius worth USD 217.8 million (EUR 191 million) from Vietnam in the period, up 17.1 percent from last year. The largest increases in purchasing were seen in the Netherlands (up 29.6 percent year-on-year), the United Kingdom (up one percent), Germany (up 7.1 percent), and Italy (56.2 percent higher).
Vietnam pangasius also found an eager audience in the United Arab Emirates. Amid an import ban that Saudi Arabia imposed on Vietnamese seafood products earlier this year, Vietnam moved into the UAE market with force, enjoying a 117.6 percent year-on-year rise in pangasius exports in the first 11 months of 2018, reaching USD 46.2 million (EUR 40.5 million) in value.
Vietnam saw a drop in sales to Latin America, with sales to Brazil and Mexico in the period falling 18.3 percent and 9.3 percent, respectively, compared with last year, according to VASEP.
Vietnam’s largest pangasius exporter, Vinh Hoan, said 11 December that it exported pangasius products worth USD 348 million (EUR 305.3 million) in the first 11 months, a year-on-year increase of 27 percent.
Photo courtesy of VASEP
