Big room for Vietnamese pangasius enterprises to enter the populous markets

Large export space

Although Vietnam's pangasius exports have fallen deeply since the beginning of the year, pangasius export enterprises still expect a brighter future because of the large export space. 

Mr. Ong Hang Van, Deputy General Director of Truong Giang Seafood Company, said that the company currently has 3 processing factories with a capacity of 300 ingredients/day. However, in the first half of 2023, pangasius businesses had to suffer many difficulties, affecting export turnover. Vietnam's key pangasius export markets all declined deeply, especially the US and China markets; The inventory of pangasius enterprises is very large, there are also many fish “stucking” in the pond.

Share the same viewpoint, Ms. Le Hang, Communications Director of VASEP, said that Vietnam's pangasius exports in the first 7 months of 2023 reached 1 billion USD, down 37% over the same period. Notably, key markets such as China, Hong Kong and the US are showing more positive signals. By the end of July 15, 2023, pangasius exports to China and Hong Kong accounted for 32% of the share, with a turnover of 301 million USD, down 33% compared to the same period in 2022. In the first half of July, this market imported more than 20 million USD of Vietnamese pangasius. In the first 7 months of this year, pangasius exports to China and Hong Kong can reach 337 million USD, down 58% compared to the same period in 2022.

Although Vietnam's pangasius exports have fallen deeply since the beginning of the year, pangasius export enterprises still expect a brighter future because of the large export space

 The US still maintained the number 2 position in importing Vietnamese pangasius. By the end of July 15, 2023, the US has imported nearly 150 million USD of Vietnamese pangasius, a decrease of 60%, compared to the same period in 2022, accounting for 16% of the share. Pangasius exports to this market in the first 7 months of this year can reach USD 162 million, down 20% compared to the same period in 2022.

Willemink Arno, Operations Director of De Heus Vietnam, said that the consumption demand of white fish, including pangasius, of Vietnam in the world market is quite large, especially in high-income countries like in the US where consumption is about 22 kg/person/year. Meanwhile, consumption of whitefish tends to lower in low- and middle-income countries. Thus, the potential for Vietnamese pangasius to boost exports to low-income markets is still very large.

"The output of pangasius in Vietnam is about 2.5 million tons/year, while China's production output is 27 million tons/year, a growth rate of about 15% per year. Despite huge production potential, the per capita consumption in urban areas in this country is still small, so the demand in the market is still very large. This will be an opportunity for Vietnamese pangasius businesses to increase their market share "- Mr. Willemink Arno emphasized.

Expected export of 1.77 billion USD

After many months of deep decline, pangasius exports have had positive signals from many markets. According to Mr. Ong Hang Van, in June and July 2023, the amount of seafood products, including pangasius exported by Truong Giang Seafood, is on the rise again. This is a signal that the market will recover in the remaining months of this year and 2024.

However, pangasius exporters should also carefully calculate fish stocks in markets, as well as focusing on deep processing

Similarly, the major export markets of Vinh Hoan Corp also recorded positive growth again. In which, exports to the EU market reached VND 153 billion in July 2023, up 22% over the same period last year. Similarly, export revenue to China increased 13% and export revenue to other markets increased 20% compared to July 2022.

According to Ms Le Hang, the export turnover of Vietnamese pangasius to China and Hong Kong has shown more positive signals as the gap between the decline has gradually narrowed. If exports in April 2023 decreased by 66%,  exports May 2023 decreased by 30% compared to the same period in 2022, then in June this reduction decreased to 15%. From 2020 until now, China and Hong Kong have always maintained the No. 1 position in terms of Vietnamese pangasius consumption. Among the main export markets, China and Hong Kong maintained the highest growth.

According to Mr. Willemink Arno, with the current market demand, Vietnamese pangasius exporters should focus on low-cost markets. At the same time, prepare for potential recovery in the last months of the year and 2024 in any case that the global economy may recover; the price of feed ingredients for pangasius gradually may stabilize. In the coming time, if the market follows the optimistic scenario, pangasius exports this year could reach 1.77 billion USD, down more than 0.5 billion USD from the planned 2.3 billion USD.

However, pangasius exporters should also carefully calculate fish stocks in markets, as well as focusing on deep processing. Because, currently, export pangasius fillet accounts for a large proportion, while export processing output accounts for only 2%.

Compiled by Thuy Linh