Vietnam’s total export value of pangasius in the first five months of 2021 reached 600 million USD. (Photo: vasep.com.vn)HCMCity (VNS/VNA) - The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP)forecasts that Vietnam's tra fish(pangasius) exports will continue to grow in the coming months thanks tothe control of the COVID-19 pandemic in importing countries, said VASEP Secretary Truong Dinh Hoe.
According to VASEP,after having COVID-19 vaccines, the economic and trade activities of manycountries have started to recover, so the countries have also increasedimports of seafood from Vietnam, especially tra fishproducts.
Việt Nam’s total exportvalue of pangasius in the first five months of 2021 reached 600 million USD, anincrease of 10 percent compared to the same period in 2020.
The large export marketsof Vietnamese pangasius in this period were China, US, Brazil and Thailand. Ofwhich, the tra fish exportvalue reached about 27 million USD to Brazil and 26 million USD to Thailand, ayear-on-year increase of 38.7 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively.
"The export growthto Thailand, the largest pangasius importer in ASEAN, is a good signal toincrease the pangasius export value to this region in the next quarter,"said Hoe.
In addition, the USmarket also increased imports of Vietnamese pangasius from the beginning of2021, according to the association. In May, Vietnma’s tra fish export value tothe US increased by 120 percent over the same period last year, reaching morethan 35 million USD. Since the end of 2020, the inventory of pangasius in the UShas been limited.
Meanwhile, the domestic catfish production has also declined.Therefore, the US has increased imports of frozen tra fishproducts from the beginning of this year.
The total value ofpangasius exports to Hong Kong in the first five months reached 146 million USD,accounting for nearly 24 percent of Vietnam's total pangasius export value.This market returned to the list of largest pangasius export markets forVietnamese tra fish products, VASEP reported.
The pandemic has had asignificant impact on the sales strategy of Vietnamese seafood enterprises.Besides reducing trade activities due to the social distancing policy in manycountries, high transportation costs and the shortage of containers havealso had great impacts on Vietnam’s seafood exports, it said.
This forces the localseafood processing and exporting enterprises to change their sales strategiesto keep customers and overcome difficulties during this period, accordingto VASEP.
Truong Tien Dung,general director of the Saigon Seafood Trading Joint Stock Company (APT), saidthe company’s exports of pangasius and catfish products in the first fivemonths of this year increased by 10 percent over the same period in 2020.
To achieve this result,APT must actively discuss with customers to produce products according todemands of the export market, instead of offering products that the companyproduces. Therefore, it has enhanced production of new processed products frompangasius and catfish.
According to Ong HangVan, Deputy General Director of the Truong Giang Seafood Joint Stock Company in Dong Thap province, in the context of COVID-19, many seafood businesseshave also changed their trading methods with partners.
Instead of signing CIFcontracts that the local enterprises have delivered goods at the port inimporting countries, the enterprises have signed FOB contracts, inwhich the enterprises deliver goods at ports in Vietnam. With thismethod, the importers must take care of transporting the country's export goods tothe importing countries.
The Ministry of Industryand Trade’s Import-Export Department also forecasts that Vietnam's seafoodexports by year end will continue growing due to increasing demand inthe US and EU markets.
After increasing 22 percent to 749 million USD in April 2021, Vietnam's seafood export continued tosurge by 24 percent in May to 790 million USD. This export value in the firstfive months of this year rose by 14 percent to reach 3.27 billion USD.
Although the economicrecovery in the EU market is slower than that of the US, consumption demand isrecovering because the pandemic is being controlled gradually. Europeanimporters tend to be more interested in Vietnamese seafood suppliers due totariff advantages from the EVFTA and stable raw materials, according to VASEP.
Vietnam's seafoodexport value to the EU in May increased by 30 percent to 95 million USD. Theexport value in the first five months reached 380 million USD, up 15 percent overthe same period last year.
For the US market, theimplementation of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign along with economicstimulus package of the US Government have encouraged quick recovery of seafoodconsumption demand in this market. The higher seafood demand is not only inretail but also services, restaurants, hotels and entertainment after a periodof social distancing due to the pandemic. The market has higher demand forshrimp, tuna, salmon, pangasius, squid, octopus, crabs and molluscs such as clamsand mussels.
In addition, Vietnam's seafood exports to countries with free trade agreements also increasedsharply in the first five months, including to Australia (65 percent), Canada(12 percent), and to the UK (17 percent). These markets are expected to playa significant role in promoting Vietnam's seafood export growth in 2021 andbeyond./.
VNA
