According to Vasep.com.vn, Vietnam’s pangasius export turnover in May 2024 reached 167 million USD, increasing 5% compared to May 2023. Cumulative pangasius exports in the first 5 months of this year reached 747 million USD, increasing 2% compared to the same period last year.
Although the growth value is not much, it also marks a return to growth for the Vietnamese pangasius industry during the global economic crisis. The economic crisis makes many challenges for all industries, especially for the Vietnamese pangasius industry, we also encounter many challenges such as reduced consumer demand in all markets and channels. Traditional distribution such as restaurants, hotels and food service saw a sharp drop in demand as people limited spending.
In the current challenging situation, businesses are forced to find new directions to expand markets, expand product lines, and find ways to coexist with market fluctuations. One of the directions that has brought positive results recently is the development of value-added products.
According to Vasep.com.vn, in the first 5 months of 2024, value-added products earned 13 million USD, increasing 15% over the same period and dried pangasius products & other frozen pangasius products earned 131 million USD, up 14% over the same period. In the opposite of the increase of the above product group, traditional pangasius fillets products only reached 603 million USD, down 0.1% over the same period.
This reflects that consumer needs are gradually changing. The economic recession has affected consumer behavior, people tend to eat at home more than go to restaurants and food service. Ready-to-cook fish products are gradually gaining popularity among busy consumers who have little time to cook. Supermarkets are now also capturing that need to offer more convenient products to meet the increasing needs of customers.
That is an opportunity for Vietnamese pangasius businesses to step up their transformation to add value to pangasius products, not simply processing raw products as before.
