(pangasius-vietnam.com) In 2013, Thailand was the second pangasius importer of Vietnam in ASEAN, but this market got the highest growth among other consumer markets in this block. Vietnam Customs reported that pangasius exports to Thailand in the last year had a worth of US$34.2 million, up 62.3 percent year on year.
Thailand imports of pangasius from Vietnam have still got steady growth in spite of tense political situation in this country since early November 2013. Thailand purchased more pangasius to serve domestic consumption demand.
Last year, Thailand got strong rise in imports of pangasius and Alaska pollock. Pangasius products occupied the major part in the group of frozen whitemeat fish fillets (HS0304). In contrast, the purchase of imported cod and hake was modest while frozen tilapia fillets saw drop of over 50 percent.
International Trade Centre (ITC) reported that in 2013, Thailand sourced 13,825 MT of frozen pangasius and catfish fillets, increasing by 77.8 percent year on year. Imported pangasius from Vietnam had a volume of 13,753 MT, up 78 percent year on year. China was the biggest supplier of frozen catfish fillets to Thailand in 2012, but shipments from China sharply downed to 72 MT in 2013.
Thailand also bought 52 MT of fresh/chilled pangasius and catfish fillets, up nearly 85.7 percent against 2012; 48 MT of which came from Vietnam, up 140 percent year on year. Catfish products from Pakistan and Japan accounted for a very small part.
In 2014, Vietnamese pangasius export to Thailand is predicted to be lower than that recorded in 2013 due to political crisis. Some Vietnamese exporters said that the situation affected Thailand’s economic growth in the first half of 2014, especially in its tourism industry, downing the confidence of local consumers and their spending on seafood products.