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Pangasius exports to the EU bounced back after months of stagnation with more than a 40% in February
There remains large room for Vietnam’s shrimp industry to strive for greater export growth in the next few years, said the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP). According to a recent report of the organization, Vietnam’s shrimp export turnover is likely to expand annually by 9% in the 2022-2025 period, hitting 5.6 billion USD by 2025.
Regarding seafood export opportunities in 2022, VASEP General Secretary, Truong Dinh Hoe, said seafood exports in 2022 will continue to grow as the global demand for shrimp is rising by around 5% a year.
If the seafood industry can expand its market share in the global market, and at the same time continues to promote processing of value-added products, it will be able to maintain growth in the coming time, he said, adding that the shrimp industry continues to be expected to be a key contributor to the country’s seafood export turnover.
Popular (and beautiful) fresh shrimp products
From a market perspective, Ho Quoc Luc, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Sao Ta Food Joint Stock Company, said Vietnamese processed or fresh shrimp products are popular due to their more beautiful packaging and stable quality compared to other competitors.
The US remains the largest importer of Vietnam’s shrimp products at present, accounting for 28 percent of Vietnam’s total exports, followed by Europe and Japan, which made up 21.8 percent and 14.9 percent of the market share, respectively. The US would continue to be the key market for many Vietnamese seafood products such as shrimp, pangasius and others, Ho Quoc Luc said.
Vietnamese exporters would have more opportunities to export to the US since India, the largest shrimp supplier to the market, was facing production difficulties due to the pandemic, he added. Vietnam ranks fifth among shrimp exporters to the US.
Pangasius exports
After two consecutive years of decline in pangasius exports to the European Union (EU), that even triggered the number of Vietnamese enterprises getting away from this market has upsurged, a positive outlook for trade with this market starting is ahead for 2022, has reported the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP). In the past February, the organization have registered up 40.2% over the same period last year.
As they say, even before the outbreak of covid-19 in Europe, the pangasius market did not seem promising as exports fell to negative levels for several months in a row. However, until the first half of February 2022, the total value of pangasius exports to the EU reached 20.2 million USD, up 40.2% over the same period last year. This is the most optimistic growth after many months of stagnation or plunge.
Currently, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and Spain are the four largest pangasius export markets in the block of Vietnamese seafood enterprises, in which, the Netherlands is the largest market, accounting for 36.6% of the total export value to this market.
As traditional partner
Over 10 years ago, the EU, as our traditional partner, was the largest pangasius export market of Vietnam. However, after reaching the ‘golden’ time in the years 2016-2018, pangasius exports to the EU began to level off and gradually declined.
After being affected by covid-19, many importers said they faced financial difficulties because the demand for white fish, including pangasius, in many markets of the region had not expanded, while logistics costs, transportation costs, etc., increased significantly.
Many EU customers have actively reduce the quantity of the orders, cancel or postpone orders that have already been or are about to be signed. In addition, FOB (Free On Board) importers face difficulties due to high sea freight costs, hence although pangasius prices in the EU are still stable, many importers are hesitant to purchase.
Promising situation for many businesses
Due to higher demands from EU customers with a repurchase price was not very attractive, in 2021 many enterprises which once had a competitive advantage when exporting to Europe moved to other markets such as China, Mexico, Brazil, Egypt, Colombia, and Thailand. That is also the reason why pangasius export value to the EU decreased continuously, explains the members of the VASEP.
The exporters organization stated that at the beginning of this year, pangasius export value to the EU is experiencing positive growth again, which is promising for many businesses that would like to return to this market.
Although in the past few months, the export value of pangasius to many European countries has been downsized or interrupted, this is still considered a large and important market for Vietnamese enterprises.