Favorable market, more opportunities for pangasius export

Bright signals from the market

A report by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) shows that Vietnam's pangasius exports for the whole year of 2023 are estimated to reach 1.85 billion USD, down about 25% compared to the previous year.

Vietnam’s pangasius exports in 2023 witnessed a decline in turnover compared to the previous year. However, the 2024 market is showing positive signs that pangasius has the potential to recover, especially when directly competing products face… “disadvantageous” factors.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), although market share in some markets has decreased, pangasius exports are showing more positive signs in some markets such as China, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, the UK, etc. "In addition to the main product of pangasius fillets, by-products such as dried pangasius bladders and pangasius cakes are attracting attention from many markets such as the US, China, Malaysia, and Singapore," said Ms. Le Hang, Director of Communications at VASEP.

Pangasius fish exports have many bright signals from the market

Ms. Tran Thi Hoang Thu, Director of Business Division of Vinh Hoan Joint Stock Company, assessed that although the seafood market in general and pangasius in particular faced many difficulties this year, there are currently some positive market signals for 2024.

Specifically, according to Ms. Thu, customers from import markets are showing more interest in pangasius products. In particular, last November, the EU passed a new regulation that imposed a 13.7% tax on pollock and cod from Russia instead of continuing to enjoy the 0% tax incentive. This is a move that has made importers start to show more interest in pangasius.

Along with that, the US market is also considering a law to completely ban whitefish and seafood originating from Russia from being imported into the US. This is also an opportunity for Vietnamese pangasius exports in 2024.

In addition, the positive assessment results on food safety for Vietnamese pangasius by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the recent inspection, along with the low tax rate in the 19th administrative review period (POR19) (although still preliminary), also put a lot of hope for pangasius businesses to penetrate the US market in 2024.

Solving the problem of breeding, reducing product costs

Although the pangasius market is showing many signs of improvement, according to VASEP, pangasius businesses are still facing many difficulties due to increasingly strict regulations and technical barriers from importing countries; farming conditions are facing many disadvantages due to climate change, high costs, etc.

In that context, businesses are focusing on reducing product costs through sustainable farming and processing according to international standards; focusing on researching market tastes, diversifying products; and at the same time, targeting the domestic market. Mr. Phan Thanh Mai - General Director of International Seafood Company said that Vietnamese pangasius products have met the requirements of export markets and have been well received by world consumers. However, for the domestic market, businesses need to find solutions to ensure that products have suitable prices.

In addition, many enterprises have invested in concentrated breeding areas in the direction of high technology. A typical example is the high-tech pangasius farming project of Nam Viet Joint Stock Company deployed in Binh Phu commune, Chau Phu district, An Giang province. With a scale of 600 hectares, equipped with modern technology such as automatic feeding system to reduce labor costs, solar energy system to reduce electricity costs and environmentally friendly.

In particular, the unit also applies IoT solutions in automatic environmental control of intensive pangasius farming ponds, to monitor water quality, which is an important solution to improve productivity, reduce product costs, and use environmentally friendly technology to increase competitiveness.

Regarding long-term solutions for the pangasius industry, according to Ms. Thu, businesses need support from local and central agencies to promote support to help 100% of breeding households and commercial products achieve food safety and hygiene certification. Because this will be a condition for many import markets, including the US and EU, to increase purchases.

“The National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (Nafiqad) requires that raw material areas also meet food safety standards, so we hope that more establishments will be encouraged to achieve certification, because in a difficult market situation, safe products will be more favorable and easier to expand cooperation,” said Ms. Thu.

The export market has shown signs of improvement, helping the price of raw pangasius in many areas in An Giang and Dong Thap to increase again. In Chau Thanh district (Dong Thap), the price of raw pangasius fluctuates from 26,000 - 26,500 VND/kg for sizes from 800g - 1.1kg, an increase of 200 - 300 VND/kg compared to last week.

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