(pangasius-vietnam.com) Through March 2014, Brazil imported US$35.3 million of pangasius products from Vietnam, up 44.3 percent year on year, according to Vietnam Customs. This was the highest growth among Vietnam’s 8 leading pangasius importing markets.
In Q.I/2014, seafood imports into Brazil were 133 thousand MT, worth US$497 million, up 15 percent year on year in value. The average price was US$3.8 per kilogram, up 19 percent. Vietnam was the fourth seafood supplier to Brazil, accounting for 9 percent of total imports. It mainly provide frozen pangasius fillets. Chile ranked first among Brazil’s seafood suppliers with 32 percent of proportion, followed by China with 20 percent.
Alaska pollock made up of the largest part in Brazilian purchase of frozen white meat fish fillets, followed by pangasius and hake. However, in the first quarter of 2014, Alaska pollock products imported into Brazil decreased by 16 percent year on year. Hake imports by the country increased by 10 percent while pangasius got a strong growth of 123 percent (International Trade Center (ITC) statistic). In the period, the country bought 18,200 MT of frozen Alaska pollock fillets, 12,533 MT of frozen pangasius fillets and 11,150 MT of frozen hake fillets.
If the trend is stable, pangasius will pass Alaska pollock to be the first imported fish in Brazil.
In Q.I/2014, Brazil sourced only fresh, frozen and chilled pangasius fillets. There no cargo of catfish from China. Export price for pangasius saw rise in the first months of the year because of higher demand in Brazilian market.