In late March, pond prices of pangasius in Vietnam declined due to weak demand, particularly from the two main markets of the United States and China.
The prices stood between VND 28,500 to 30,000 (USD 1.22 to 1.29, EUR 1.09 to 1.14) per kilogram in the first two months of the year. But the rates began to slide in March because processors reduced material purchase due to fewer export contracts, Agrotrade said.
The rates at ponds in An Giang Province in the Mekong Delta ranged between VND 23,500 to 24,000 (USD 1.01 to 1.03, EUR 0.89 to 0.9) per kilogram over the week of between 22 and 28 March, according to data from Vietnam’s Agro Processing and Market Development Authority (Agrotrade).
The prices were down 19 to 20 percent from last year and 6 to 7.7 percent lower than the previous week, for sizes between 0.8 to 1.0 kilograms per fish.
According to data from Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), the pond prices in Dong Thap Province in the same week were VND 22,000 to 24,000 (USD 0.94 to 1.03, EUR 0.83 to 0.91) per kilogram for smaller size of 0.7 to 0.8 kilogram per fish.
Pangasius business seems to be settling down a bit in the U.S. now after a very chaotic six month period, a U.S.-based trader told SeafoodSource.
“Once price began to slide, it seemed the fish could not become cheap enough, quickly enough. It seemed each week brought a lower price than the week before,” he said. “I think we saw some customers back out of agreements. Then that product needed to find a new home quickly, adding to the soft pricing.”
Once the 7/9s broke below USD 3.00 (EUR 2.65), it seemed there was always cheaper product to be had by waiting.
“Finally, we have seen some stability in the lower USD 2.00 range [EUR 1.80]. The 3/5 pricing held up a little better but now we are seeing those prices drop as well,” he said.
The bright side, he believes, is these prices will bring the buyers back. It appears that year-on-year and month-on-month volumes of imports are beginning to increase. The U.S. import volumes of pangasius in January 2019 was up 32 percent from the same month last year, which followed December 2018 with a year-on-year surge of 23 percent, according to the trader.
