HANOI: Vietnamese pangasius exports generated USD1.71 billion in 2016, a year-on-year increase of 9.6 per cent, according to the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Producers and Exporters (Vasep).
Vasep also informed that sales to the United States and China showed the highest growth during the analyzed period while exports to the European Union continued to decline.
In the case of pangasius sales to the US, in the fourth quarter last year, there was a 21 per cent increase, reaching USD 100.6 million, compared to the same period in the previous year. As to the annual sales of the species to the North American country, the growth was 22.8 per cent year on year.
Vasep’s official data also revealed that besides importing catfish from 13 suppliers led by Vietnam, the US imported some white fish in which tilapia products from China is a strong competitor of Vietnam pangasius. Sales of the latter to the US continue being negatively affected by antidumping duty and catfish inspection program.
According to Vasep’s statistics, China became the second largest importer of Vietnamese pangasius, overtaking the EU as of September last year. Throughout the whole year, sales to the market reached USD 304.7 million, representing a growth of 88.7 per cent compared to the previous year.
Exports to the EU in the fourth quarter last year topped USD 63.8 million, which was a drop of 3.2 per cent compared to the same period in 2015. The annual sales to this market also decreased by 8.5 per cent, reaching USD 260.9 million. In particular, the export value to the four largest single markets also decreased: the Netherlands (7.5 per cent); the UK (4.2 per cent); Spain (6.2 per cent) and Germany (4.9 per cent) compared with 2015.
A reduction was also seen in pangasius exports to some other major markets such as ASEAN (0.2 per cent); Mexico (12 per cent); Brazil (12.5 per cent), Colombia (5.4 per cent); Saudi Arabia (16.6 per cent).
Meanwhile, the Vietnam Pangasius Association informed that the pangasius fish farming area in the Mekong Delta reduced over 3,400 hectares last year, and the output topped one million tonnes.
