Prices for the smaller sizes are also strong enough to make this profitable, Chow told Undercurrent News.
A farmer today can fetch RMB 9.60 per kilo for 300/500 sizes, which is the same price they would get for 500/800 in May last year.
“The farmers can harvest the fish quickly at a very good price,” said Chow. “They worry that the price might drop if they keep fish to 500 - 800 grams, which takes one and a half to two months.” “Also fish can die if temperatures get high,” he said.
Liang Chaorong, managing assistant at the Chinese processor Evergreen (Zhanjiang Evegreen Aquatic Product), told a similar story. “The raw material is a problem, because there’s no supply of big sizes,” Chaorong told Undercurrentduring the Seafood Expo Global trade show in Brussels last week.
Uncertainty over the weather means farmers are preferring to harvest when the fish is at 300-500 grams, instead of the 700-900g preferred by processors, said Chaorong.
He said ex-farm tilapia prices in Guangdong are at around RMB 11.90 per kilo for 500/800, RMB 10.40 for 300/500 and RMB 12 for above 800 grams.
Chow quoted lower prices, of RMB 11.60/kg for 500/800, and RMB 9.60 for 300/500. These are still comfortably above levels of May last year (RMB 9.60 and RMB 7.60) and November 2013 (RMB 9.80 and RMB 7.80).
Both Chaorong and Jason Carter, who co-founded the tilapia supplier Elite Seafood, said supply was currently short.
“Supply is still very short and we don’t expect this to change until August,” Carter told Undercurrent.
“Demand seems to be quite strong, with packers still buying raw material and I haven’t heard of anyone stopping production due to high raw material pricing,” said Carter, who’s company Elite is expanding its farming areas. “We will see some price relief but I don’t think that this will be until August when we see more supply.”
Higher proportion of 300/500
For the market, the result for now is a short supply of 500/800 and 800+ sizes.
The 3/5oz packs preferred by US foodservice buyers and some retailers are now made with more 300/500 and fewer 500/800, said Chow.
Normally, a 3/5oz pack would consist of 60% 500/800, and maybe 20% 800/1,200 and 20% 300/500. But today, Chow said the breakdown is likely to be closer to 40-55% of 300/500, just 10% of 800/1,200 and the 500/800 making up the rest. “It does not say that there is no 500/800, just that there is more 300/500.”
300/500 sizes are usually used for filleting 2-3oz, whilst 500/800 are used to process 3-5oz fillets.
As long as the bags are bigger than 500g, it is easy to do 3/5oz, said Chow.
(vasep.com.vn) On November 11, 2026, in Can Tho, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) will organize the Vietnam Seafood Summit 2026 (VSS 2026) under the theme “Seafood Market Outlook 2027–2029: Opportunities and Headroom for Double-Digit Export Growth.”
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Business leader Do Ngoc Tai, General Director of Tai Kim Anh Seafood Processing Joint Stock Company, was honored by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) with the title “Outstanding Vietnamese Entrepreneur – Thanh Giong Cup 2026” at a ceremony celebrating Vietnam Entrepreneurs’ Day (October 13). The event took place on the evening of October 11, 2026, at the National Convention Center in Hanoi.
(vasep.com.vn) The global tilapia market is becoming increasingly segmented, not only among producing countries but also by product type and destination market. Supply is divided into groups with distinct competitive advantages: large volumes of whole fish and frozen fillets from Asia, high-value fresh fillets from Latin America, and substantial domestic consumption in several major producing countries.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s tuna exports to the UK grew in the first eight months of 2026, despite signs of slowing import demand in the market. However, sharp fluctuations in orders, competition from major suppliers, and new traceability requirements are creating challenges for Vietnamese exporters.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam is stepping up efforts to combat illegal fishing, protect marine ecosystems, expand digital monitoring, and develop science-based management to ensure the sea can support communities and the economy for generations to come.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The EU remains a critical market for Vietnamese shrimp; however, purchasing demand and import patterns are undergoing notable changes. According to Vietnam Customs data, as of September 15, 2026, Vietnam’s shrimp exports to the EU reached nearly $374 million, down 5% year-over-year and accounting for 10.7% of the country’s total shrimp export value. Meanwhile, the EU’s stotal shrimp imports through July 2026 contracted by 7% in volume, exhibiting divergent trends across Southern Europe, Northwestern Europe and Eastern Europe. These dynamics necessitate that Vietnamese enterprises closely monitor individualized market demand, rather than approaching the EU as a monolithic consumer block.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In the first eight months of 2026, Vietnam’s exports of surimi and fish cakes remained relatively stable year-over-year compared to 2025. Following a contraction in the initial months, export performance demonstrated improvement from June onward, peaking in August. However, the recovery has been uneven, characterized by divergent trends across major markets: robust growth was recorded in China, Japan, Malaysia, the United States, and Taiwan, whereas export volumes to South Korea, Indonesia, and select European markets contracted.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Pangasius remains one of Dong Thap’s key aquaculture species, with the province focusing on developing an integrated value chain covering seed production, commercial farming, deep processing and by-product utilization. The province is promoting high-tech, circular pangasius farming models featuring reduced water exchange and enhanced biosecurity, aiming to improve production efficiency and strengthen control over raw material quality.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s seafood exports in September 2026 are estimated at US$1.135 billion, up 11.9% year-on-year, bringing total exports in the first nine months of the year to US$9.103 billion, up 11.4%. Behind this double-digit growth, however, increasingly divergent market trends are emerging: China–Hong Kong and ASEAN posted strong growth, while the U.S., EU and Japan all recorded declines in September.
(vasep.com.vn) In the first eight months of 2026, Brazil became the largest market for Vietnamese tilapia, with export value reaching US$44 million, up 22,142% year-on-year and accounting for 49% of Vietnam’s total tilapia exports. In August alone, exports to Brazil reached US$4 million. However, behind this remarkable growth is a market that is imposing increasingly stringent requirements on imported supplies.
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