HANOI: Vietnam’s pangasius export turnover this year looks set to be $1.7 billion, a 4% year-on-year drop, due to difficulties in import markets and tighter regulations.
The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (Vasep), quoting custom statistics, said that for the four months to May 15, the total export revenue of pangasius fell 9.3% from the same period last year to $544.8 million, reports Viet Nam News.
The statistics further revealed that the export turnover to China had surged 46%, and Canada went up 12.5% as against the corresponding period last year, while exports to the US increased by 8.8%.
However, the export value to the EU saw a sharp decrease of 16%, to Mexico of 21% and Colombia of 8%.
According to Vasep, in the US, the export value of pangasius dropped 23% in January due to anti-dumping operations by the US Department of Commerce.
The rising US dollar also had importers hesitating while buying even as they requested a price reduction. The average export price to the US in the first quarter fell $0.05 over the same period last year..
The price saw a decrease of VND 300 to VND 500 a week since the end of February. By the end of May, it was between VND 20,000 and VND 25,000 per kilogram – the lowest level so far this year.
Vasep said the difficulties to the US, Vietnam’s biggest market, which accounted for 22% of the country’s total exports, was a key reason for the drastic in price.
In the EU, Vietnam’s second biggest importer, the export value in the first half of last month dropped 16% against the same period of the previous month.
The pangasius exports to the market were not expected to improve in the next few months.
Vasep said the main reason for the decrease in exports in the market was because the importers cut down on their imports. The strong drop in the value of the euro against US dollar has proved difficult for importers, the organization said.
