(vasep.com.vn) As of mid-March 2020, the total export value of pangasius reached 267.8 million USD, with no signs of recovery compared to the same period last year. The Covid-19 pandemic is still affecting export activities in some market areas around the world. However, amid these difficulties, pangasius exports are seeing signs of improvement from some major markets such as the US and China.
According to statistics from Vietnam Customs, in the first half of March 2020, the value of pangasius exports to the US market increased by 18.8% compared to the same period last year. This is an optimistic signal for businesses exporting pangasius to the US in the context that throughout 2019, the value of pangasius exports to this market decreased. As of mid-March 2020, the US is Vietnam’s largest pangasius export market, accounting for 18.8% of the total pangasius export value.
According to some pangasius export enterprises, since February 2020, pangasius exports to China – Hong Kong have restarted and export activities are gradually returning to normal. In just the first half of March 2020, the value of pangasius exports to this market was nearly 13 million USD, an increase of 1 million USD compared to the entire previous month of February 2020. If the export speed increases as predicted, some pangasius export businesses confidently say that the value of pangasius exports to China in the coming months could increase by 40-50%.
Optimistic light is returning in some markets, hopefully promoting the return of production and export activities in the near future. Currently, the price of raw pangasius in the Mekong Delta is still hovering around 18,000 – 18,800 VND/kg. This is a lower price than the same period last year but has begun to gradually stabilize in the past 2 months. Due to salinity intrusion, some export markets are temporarily calm, causing both factories and farmers to reduce the speed of pond stocking. Expected harvest output in the next 2 months will decrease. However, this is a condition for raw pangasius prices to increase in the near future.
In some other major export markets such as: EU, ASEAN, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Australia still decreased. As of the first half of March 2020, the value of pangasius exports to ASEAN decreased by 25.2%; EU decreased by 47.3%; Brazil decreased by 14.3%, Mexico decreased by 57.5% over the same period last year. The Covid-19 epidemic situation is greatly affecting the EU market when goods transportation and delivery activities cannot be carried out due to the blockade policy to control the epidemic. However, currently, the demand for seafood products, including pangasius, in European supermarkets tends to increase.
Not only Vietnamese pangasius products are affected by the epidemic, Russian white fish products are also having their prices reduced because Chinese processing factories closed during the first 2 months of the year and have just reopened. . Before starting work, all factory workers in China were quarantined for 14 days. The scarcity of workers also caused the factories to not really stabilize production. However, since March 2020, China’s whitefish and tilapia processing factories have also stabilized.
In the immediate future, in April 2020, it is possible that in some export markets, the export value of pangasius will continue to decrease compared to the same period last year due to disruptions in goods transportation activities, but there are positive developments. from a number of large markets to help businesses realize positive things in the coming time. Currently, to continue accompanying the Government in social isolation, pangasius businesses need to continue to propagate and encourage workers to voluntarily comply and fully implement measures to protect themselves and protect themselves. Protect the general health of the factory.
