Burgeoning Indian demand for Vietnamese pangasius

Vietnamese tra (Pangasius hypophthalmus), which is marketed as basa in the Indian market, has grown leaps and bounds in the last three years, industry players told IntraFish.

Propelled by its low pricing and year round availability, pangasius has made its way into several tiers in the restaurant scene -- coveted because it comes in a deboned, filleted format, and restaurants can use it in a variety of ways, and at almost half the price that local fish demand.

“Indian sea-caught material is going downhill,” said Rustom Irani, president of the state of Maharashtra in the Seafood Exporters Association of India. “There are no conservation efforts in Indian waters, and the fishermen are using smaller mesh size, and catching smaller fish. As a result, there are no good Indian fish for fillets for restaurant use.”

The volumes of pangasius coming into India has “gone through the roof," Irani said, and the following numbers quoted by importer Irfan Khan makes it easy to see why.

“Importers pay around INR 160 (€2.30/$3) to INR 170 (€2.40/$3.10) per kilogram, and market price starts around INR 185 (€2.60/$3.40) and goes up to INR 250 (€3.50/$4.60),” Irfan Khan told IntraFish.

Khan runs Harbour Exports, a major seafood importing company that supplies to middle tier and high end

restaurants and hotel chains across the country, but primarily in the city of Mumbai, India’s financial capital.

“Last year we imported 25 to 30 metric tons of basa every month, whereas before it was barely five metric tons,” he said.

“We expect it to go up to 100 metric tons a month next year -- 90 percent of the hotels and restaurants in Mumbai is now selling basa.”

Price advantage

In 2013, the Vietnamese pangasius production is forecast to fall to 800,000 metric tons, worth $1.5 billion (€1.2 billion).

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) blames economic crisis for poor outlook, saying changes are needed for recovery.

Vietnam has 300 pangasius exporters, the website noted, but only 70 pangasius processors.

This needs to be addressed and problems solved for the sector to develop and grow pangasius exports by 2014, the association's chairman previously told IntraFish.

More worrisome is the fact that seven out of 10 of Vietnam’s major export markets for the fish, such as the European Union, the United States, China, middle eastern countries and Egypt have decreased imports of the fish due to economic woes and spending cuts.

The reasons behind pangasius's rapid spread and acceptance in India are two-fold: it goes well with marinated spices and sauces that Indian ‘continental’ food is prepared in, especially Chinese food, a massively popular choice for Indians when dining out.

“Restaurant chains such as Mainland China will mention in their menus that they are using imported whitefish,” Khan said.

“It is also used in fish ‘tikka’, skewers and kebabs in restaurants such as Barbeque Nation, and I have seen this fish being served in a battered and fried form in JW Marriott’s restaurant.”

Pangasius is reigning supreme in a market where sellers might keep high-end fish for the al a carte menu, but in the buffet meals, breaking even becomes impossible unless serving cheaper options, industry insiders said.

This is where the imported fish scores.

“Local fish such as seer and pomfret sell at INR 550 (€7.80/$10.10) per kilogram and INR 700 (€9.90/$12.90) to INR 900 (€12.70/$16.60) respectively,” said Alex Ninan, chief executive of Baby Marine International, a seafood exporting company based in the south Indian city of Kochi. “Whereas Vietnamese basa sells at less than half price of INR 200 (€2.80/$3.70).”