Pangasius exporters from Vietnam achieved sales totaling USD 1.7 billion (EUR 1.6 billion) in 2016, an increase of 9.6 percent compared with the previous year, with strong growth in both the U.S. and China markets, but the declining sales trend to the EU continued.
The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) reported that the country’s pangasius exports to the United States reached USD 100.6 million (EUR 95 million) in the fourth-quarter of 2016, an increase of 21 percent year-on-year. As a result, the export value for the full year totaled USD 387.4 million (EUR 365.7 million), up 22.8 percent compared with 2015.
The United States was the No.1 destination for the farmed fish, accounting for almost 23 percent of the total earnings.
Meanwhile, thanks to strong growth in the first three quarters of last year, China-Hong Kong leapfrogged the EU to become Vietnam’s second most important market with a 17 percent share. For 2016 as a whole, pangasius exports to this market increased by 88.7 percent to USD 304.7 million (EUR 287.6 million).
According to VASEP, China-Hong Kong is on course to become the largest market for Vietnamese pangasius.
Sales to the EU, however, fell 8.5 percent last year to USD 260.9 million (EUR 246.3 million), with reduced trade in the bloc’s four main markets – the Netherlands (down 7.5 percent), the United Kingdom (down 4.2 percent), Spain (down 6.2 percent) and Germany (down 4.9 percent).
The EU accounted for around 16 percent of Vietnam’s export earnings last year.
Pangasius exports also declined to ASEAN countries, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Saudi Arabia, highlighted VASEP.
In the first half of 2017, Vietnam’s exports to major importing markets such as the United States and China are expected to continue to grow, but exports to the EU are projected to decrease by 3 to 5 percent.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) stated that pangasius output in the Mekong Delta totaled 1.19 million metric tons (MT), with a farming area of more than 5,500 hectares. In 2017, the area for pangasius farming is expected to increase slightly to 5,600 hectares with a yield of 1.2 million MT.
