Pangasius sector may entirely recover from the third quarter

According to the Vietnam pangasius society, since early 2020, the covid-19 pandemic has badly affected the production, processing and exports of Vietnamese pangasius.

The covid-19 has resulted in a 29.3% decrease in Vietnam’s pangasius export volume in the first three months of 2020 as compared to the same period last year. However, the pangasius sector may fully recover from the third quarter of this year.

That was stated by the Directorate of Fisheries in the “Conference of the pangasius production and consumption amid the covid-19” held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in An Giang on May 07.

The conference was presided by Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyễn Xuân Cường and attended by leaders and pangasius exporting companies from An Giang and Đồng Tháp.

The interjection by coronavirus outbreak into the value chain is temporary and imports and exports will be recovered right after the pandemic is brought under control.

General Director of the Directorate of Fisheries Trần Đình Luân said that China has been putting the epidemic under control and restarting its trading activities. Moreover, the amount of unsold stocks in some key importing countries is low.

The pangasius sector is forecasted to fully recover from the third quarter of 2020 and sales to the Chinese market alone can recover late May 2020. A scenario for production control must be enacted to accommodate enough material for processing and exports.

India’s population is now more than 1.3 billion people and tends to become the most populous country in the world in 2027. India has seen a continuing increase in pangasius output since the first introduction of this species in 1995 and took in 0.85 million tons of pangasius in 2018. Thus, this country can be a potential market for Vietnamese pangasius in the future, Trần Đình Luân forecasts.

Vietnam plans to produce 1.42 million tons of pangasius in 2020 with an accumulated farming area of 6,600ha. Vietnam set a goal of bringing in 10 billion USD in fisheries in 2020, including from shrimp, pangasius and seafood sectors.

With difficulties ahead, the Vietnam pangasius society has recommended the Government to consider and adopt a policy to support processors and famers to develop and promote the domestic market and recover in foreign markets. Dương Quốc Nghĩa, Chairman of the Vietnam pangasius society, emphasized the improvement of quality and image of Vietnamese pangasius as well as development of the Vietnamese pangasius trademark at this time.

The Vietnam pangasius society, Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), and prefectures in the Mekong Delta will focus on looking for solutions to difficulties faced by exporting companies, especially financial problem, trade promotion, and sales of pangasius in such markets where covid-19 subsides as China, the EU, Japan and ASEAN.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will work with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and associations to boost the sales of pangasius in potential markets like Russia and Brazil. They will also work with supermarkets and the domestic distribution system to boost local consumption so that the pangasius sector will not be dependent on importing markets.

For a sustainable pangasius development, MARD Minister requires prefectures inside and outside the Mekong Delta not to expand the pangasius farming area and appeals for local support to the ministry’s plan.

High quality pangasius broodstocks must be developed upon the cooperation with big-sized companies in broodstock development.