Pangasius fish export turnover possible to hit $2 billion this year

Pangasius fish export has been advantageous with a high growth rate in the US market. So experts believe that US$2 billion export turnover is obtainable for Vietnam this year.

Pangasius fish harvest in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam (Photo: SGGP)

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, pangasius fish export has been advantageous with consumption in large markets such as China and the US having increase.

That has helped increase the fish price in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam since the end of September to October as it has hit the ten years high of VND35,000 a kilogram.

Fish breeder Nguyen Thanh Hung in Can Tho City said that farmers enjoy a profit of VND11,000 a kilogram with the price of VND35,000.

As a result, many households have resumed and expanded farming areas.

Mr. Nguyen Van Dong, director of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department in Hau Giang province, said that for the last two years, nearly 70 percent of households had resumed farming after a period of shutdown because of price fall. 

Similarly, Dong Thap province has backed to the top in pangasius fish breeding with over 1,000 hectares. Farmers in the Mekong Delta has harvested over one million tons of the fish to provide materials for exports.

Currently, China is still the largest export market of Vietnam with the growth rate of  8.9 percent over the same period in 2017. During the first nine months this year, the fish export value reached $1.6 billion, up nearly 29.7 percent over a year ago.

In September, Vietnam’s pangasius fish export to the US market posted  a year on year increase of 42.9 percent, a record high, after US Department of Commerce reduced anti-dumping tax on Vietnamese pangasius fish products.

With these positive signs, Vietnam is likely to obtain the fish export turnover of $2 billion this year, say experts.

Hence Vietnam Pangasius Association has encouraged businesses to intensify market expansion, develop brand names, diversify products with high class fish fillet.

In early November, the association will organize Mekong Chief 2018 to introduce Vietnamese pangasius fish products in Can Tho city.