Despite efforts to levy duties on pangasius imports into the United States to level the playing field with domestic catfish, prices for Vietnam swai, or pangasius, remain well below their American counterparts, and one retailer says that makes the choice easy for most customers.
Prices for U.S.-grown catfish were running between USD 2.75 (EUR 2.04) and USD 3 (EUR 2.23) a pound for whole, fresh dressed fish, with fillet prices averaging about USD 3.70 (EUR 2.74) in the first part of September. Frozen prices are just a little below those of the fresh domestic product.
That compares to Vietnamese pangasius prices of about USD 1.70 (EUR 1.26) a pound for frozen fillets, regardless of size. Frozen pangasius prices out of China are somewhat higher, in the low USD 2 (EUR 1.48) area.
With frozen pangasius prices about half the cost of frozen U.S. catfish, one East Coast supermarket buyer says consumers are voting with their wallets. When compared to each other, the buyer said his shoppers are choosing pangasius at a rate of 85 percent to 15 percent for domestic catfish.
This proves price is the single biggest factor when it comes to sales of the two fish, the buyer said.
“At five-to-one volume, I believe the customer is voting based on price and the much more mild flavor of swai,” the buyer said.
Those comments are backed up by the numbers, as the United States overtook the European Union to become the top pangasius importer in the first half of 2013, with shipments of more than USD 230 million (EUR 171 million), according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers. Shipments to Europe and the Middle East were down in the first half of the year, but more fish was headed to Southeast Asian countries and to some areas of Central America and South America.
While U.S. market prices for Vietnamese pangasius have begun to climb slightly since spring, they remain below last year’s levels. All in all, production and prices have been steady, the buyer said. “We have had no issues getting product,” the buyer said. “There seems to be a large amount of low-quality swai inventory in the United States now. But most recently there has been less production in Vietnam, causing costs to rise very slightly.”
Producers in Vietnam continue to fight efforts to levy antidumping duties on their shipments into America, and are awaiting a chance to go to trial to challenge a ruling by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Despite that challenge, the agency has levied new duties on Vietnamese pangasius that, if upheld, could add between USD 1 (EUR 0.74) to more than USD 2 to each kilogram of fish shipped into the country.
