According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), since the beginning of this year, pangasius exports to most markets remained positive with an export turnover of US$425 million, up 15% over the same period last year.
Remarkably, Vietnam pangasius exports to the U.S. were up nearly 50 percent, Mexico up 15.5 percent and Brazil up 26.2 percent from that of the same period last year. Among EU block, Spain is pangasius importer from Vietnam having the highest growth.
According to experts, although fish sales to many markets showed bright outlook, pangasius production and trade are encountering a lot of challenges. The reduction in raw fish price continued to make pangasius farmers worry.
The raw fish price in many provinces in the Mekong Delta is fluctuating at VND23,000-24,000 per kilogram, VND2,000 per kilogram lower than that of two weeks ago. The number of fish in ponds are only 200,000 MT.
With low selling price of raw fish, many farmers can abandon farming ponds, leading to a shortage of raw fish for processing and exporting in the near time. Some fish farmers, who want to continue farming, are facing a lot of bottlenecks such as lack of investment capital and inaccessibility to bank loans because the banks hesitate to lend fish farmers due to high risk.
Another difficulty is shortage of fish seed for restocking due to high mortality rate of seed in many hatcheries. According to many domestic pangasius exporters, raw fish supply from fish farmers can’t meet the demand for processing and exporting. Raw fish supply from fish farmers is estimated to satisfy less than 20 percent of fish processor’s demand this year while enterprises can only meet 50 percent of raw fish for operating through their owned farms.
Besides, pangasius exporters also cope with rocketing production cost and hardly obtain low interest rate loans. In addition, debts from some seafood enterprises forced banks to begin tightening credit control, making it difficult for seafood enterprises to access to capital.
Timely solutions
In the last 9 months of 2012, seafood enterprises and farmers need to cooperate closely with each other in pangasius production and trading. The Government should support capital for fish producers to meet their credit demand for operating. Banks should consider ‘more flexible lending’ for fish farmers such as releasing unsecured loans or lending money based on signed contracts between fish farmers and enterprises instead of loans with mortgage (cultivated land and other assets).
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development will continue to call for supportive policies of credit from the government. Besides, the close linkage among 4 sides: Government, scientists, enterprises and farmers needs to be intensified in pangasius production to raise fish price and the value of pangasius in importing markets.
Apart from state policies, localities should encourage fish farmers to apply sustainable standards such as VietGAP, GlobalGAP to ensure a stable supply of raw material with high quality.
To strengthen fish exports to new markets, enterprises should obey all terms in the contracts, ensure fish quality, and obey strictly requirements or regulations from seafood importers. This is also a main content which was discussed in the conference of pangasius production in quarter I/2012 held by VASEP in Ho Chi Minh city in April 17th 2012. The conference addressed pangasius producing and exporting situation, raw fish supply, market trend, some measures to develop sustainable pangasius industry.
In the conference, VASEP also gave fish farmers and competent agencies overall information about trend of importing markets and pangasius exports in the first three months of 2012.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On July 9, 2026, the Embassy of Vietnam in Brazil organized the seminar titled “Sharing Information on Vietnam-Brazil Economic, Trade and Investment Relations in the First Half of 2026” to provide updates on bilateral cooperation and strengthen connections among government agencies, industry associations, and business communities of the two countries.
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(seafood.vasep.com.vn) For many years, Vietnam’s seafood industry has been recognized as one of the country’s key export pillars. Products such as shrimp, pangasius, tuna, squid, octopus, and a wide range of other seafood have reached hundreds of markets worldwide. Yet behind these impressive export figures lies a significant challenge: a substantial share of Vietnam’s seafood export value still comes from minimally processed products, contract manufacturing, and raw material exports—segments characterized by low profit margins and high vulnerability to fluctuations in global prices.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In the context of a global economy shifting powerfully toward green and sustainable values, Vietfish 2026 is far more than just a commercial trade fair. It has become a strategic rendezvous and a "comprehensive ecosystem"—a convergence of value, knowledge, and sustainable growth opportunities for the entire industry chain.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s pangasius exports to Colombia continued their strong upward momentum in May 2026. Export value to the market reached USD 4 million, up 24% compared to the same month in 2025. Cumulative exports in the first five months of 2026 totaled USD 24 million, an impressive 48% increase year-on-year.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Hai Phong's aquaculture sector is accelerating the adoption of high technologies in aquaculture to adapt to climate change, with red tilapia and tilapia identified as the key cultured species for priority development.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s seafood exports reached nearly US$1.1 billion in June 2026, up 21.0% year-on-year. Cumulative exports in the first half of 2026 totaled nearly US$5.8 billion, representing a 12.8% increase compared with the same period last year. Exports to China and Hong Kong continued to accelerate, while shipments to the United States rebounded strongly in June. In contrast, exports to the EU, Japan, and the Middle East remained sluggish or recorded slight declines.
(vasep.com.vn) Tilapia is playing an increasingly important role in Vietnam’s aquaculture sector, driven not only by growing market opportunities but also by its ability to meet increasingly stringent requirements on quality, food safety, and traceability. In practice, tilapia farming in Vietnam is not a spontaneous or loosely regulated activity; rather, it operates under a comprehensive legal and technical framework covering the entire value chain—from hatcheries and farming to processing and exports.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s shrimp exports reached USD 1.9 billion in the first five months of 2026, up 12% compared with the same period last year. Amid continued volatility in the global seafood market, this result demonstrates that the shrimp sector has maintained positive growth momentum, supported by improving demand in several Asian markets, particularly China.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On June 16, the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Ca Mau Province announced that the locality has established a farming area code for nearly 30,400 hectares of mud crab aquaculture and granted export facility codes to five enterprises eligible to export mud crab officially to markets such as China, Cambodia, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
VASEP - HIỆP HỘI CHẾ BIẾN VÀ XUẤT KHẨU THỦY SẢN VIỆT NAM
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