Pangasius - June 2012

01/06/2012

Viet Nam is the world’s main supplier and exporter of pangasius but local production in many countries is increasing and is used for domestic consumption in these countries.

Viet Nam

Pangasius production reached about 1.2 million tonnes according to VASEP. Export turnover was also higher and reached USD 1.8 billion (nearly 27% higher than in 2010) in spite of supply shortages and disease problems. The higher export value probably resulted from higher prices throughout last year. In terms of value, frozen fillet was the main export product taking a 99% share.

Imports by the USA increased, as well as by ASEAN markets such as Singapore (+39%), the Philippines (+86%) and Thailand (+37%). Exports also increased to Mexico, Brazil and Saudi Arabia.

In 2012, the industry focus will be to keep production stable and place more emphasis on the quality of exports. Farmers in the Mekong Delta have been given instructions by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to improve the quality of pangasius to meet international standards.

The US Department of Commerce has announced the seventh final results of the administrative review (POR7) on frozen catfish fillets imported from Viet Nam. Vinh Hoan Group will continue to enjoy a zero percent anti-dumping tariff on exports to the USA from 1 August 2009 to 31 July 2010, while the other 12 Vietnamese exporters involved in the review are still subject to a tax rate of USD 0.03 a kilogram for POR7.

Europe

The EU imported 12% less freshwater fish in 2011 reaching a total of 209 000 tonnes. Almost 90% of this amount was made up of pangasius, followed by tilapia (9%) and Nile perch. Import volume into the major EU markets, namely Spain, Germany, The Netherlands, Poland and Romania declined in 2011, but exports to many other EU countries such as Italy, UK, Portugal, France, Greece, Cyprus and Slovakia increased.

USA

US frozen catfish imports increased by 59% in 2011 compared with the previous year, totalling almost 92 000 tonnes. Import value strengthened by 78% to USD 350 million. India has begun exporting pangasius fillets to the USA, with exports totalling 17 tonnes.

In the past years, US catfish farmers faced stiff competition from imported Vietnamese catfish, with some farms having to close. However, industry sources see an imminent increase in supplies of the domestic channel catfish with more farms operating in 2012.

Asia

Imports from Viet Nam increased last year into many Asian countries such as China, India, Malaysia, Hong Kong SAR, Republic of Korea and Singapore.

Philippines

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in the Philippines is continuing to encourage the growth of pangasius aquaculture with the objective of reducing the dependency on catfish imports by increasing domestic production. Pangasius is considered a high value aquaculture product because of its marketability, especially by the hotel and restaurant sector.

India

Pangasius is in high demand in the catering sector, increasingly becoming an alternative to cod because of its reasonable price and because the fillet is more uniform in size.  Fresh pangasius from domestic production is distributed to household level through local markets but imports continue to take place as imported pangasius is still cheaper than local production even after a 35% import duty.

Outlook

In Viet Nam, VASEP expects production to remain stable in 2012 and producers will place more emphasis on quality. Supplies will increase from other producing countries where demand is likely to remain firm.

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