Pangasius production in Vietnam for the first 10 months of this year amounted to 996,076 metric tons (MT), an increase of more than 9 percent year-on-year. Despite the increased volume – a lot of which has and will be exported – prices quoted for the farmed fish are around VND 22,500 (USD 1, EUR 0.94) per kg, which is the highest level seen since the start of 2016.
The prices have been buoyed by increased overseas demand ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
The association also highlighted that the total area dedicated to pangasius farming in the key Mekong Delta provinces is estimated to have grown 4 percent this year to 5,352 hectares. Notable production increases during the past 10 months include Dong Thap with 325,042 MT (up 18.7 percent), Can Tho with 139,553 MT (up 23.9 percent) and Ben Tre with 154,630 MT (up 10.8 percent).
Last year, the Mekong Delta produced more than 1.1 million MT of pangasius and exported USD 1.6 billion (EUR 1.5 billion) worth of the fish.
Overall, Vietnam’s aquaculture output for the January through October period was estimated at more than 2.9 million MT, an increase of 1.6 percent year-on-year. As well as the aforementioned pangasius harvest, the total included 433,000 MT of shrimp, up 1.7 percent year-on-year, comprising 203,000 MT of black tiger shrimp and 230,000 MT of whiteleg shrimp.
