One of priorities of the Vietnamese fishery industry is to shorten the way to European retail chains for their seafood products. However, no company is able to bring seafood products to foreign supermarkets' shelves directly. The reason is that seafood products from Vietnam have to pass many steps in the distributing chain, especially labelling and marketing, which are dominated by big fish and seafood processing and distribution groups in importing markets.
Consumers can buy fish products like pangasius loins from Vietnam in some supermarkets in Europe. All of them are sold under the brand name of European processing and distribution groups. However, consumers can find the statement "from Vietnam" on these products. It is clear that products from Vietnam have to pass a range of expensive steps to be available in European supermarkets; therefore, profit of Vietnamese export companies are tightened even though they provide pangasius at high price.
Nguyen Huu Dung, Vice President of Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) analyzed that European buyers are the most important partners of Vietnam; however, they are only interested in the selling price in stead of the quality of products.
"Previously, Vietnamese exporters had no choice once European importers had willingness to buy fish at a lower price. However, Vietnam pangasius industry is changing the supply method and turning to final distributors – i.e. big supermarkets and leading retailers in Europe, which account for large market shares in this region," Mr. Dung added.
Vietnamese seafood exporters are still weak in marketing. Most of them are not paying attention to habits of final consumers in Europe.
Which kinds of designed fish products do consumers want to buy? What are recipes for pangasius? These steps are taken by middle men in foreign markets, so profit for Vietnamese company is lower and lower.
"Personally, I think that marketing is more important than increasing output. Pangasius producers must identify who eat their fish and how consumers want fish products to be processed and designed. However, distributors in foreign markets are still needed to further promotion of products to gain high selling price. Currently, Vietnamese processors and exporters are much investing in the quality, but price for pangasius products is still low," Sabine Gisch-Boie with WWF Austria explained.
Different from the U.S., European countries have very low catfish production. There is no obstacle from European Fish Procesors Association against pangasius from Vietnam. Exports of pangasius to this region may gain more advantages.
Vietnamese exporters are now focusing on convincing European consumers with pangasius products with good quality, mild flavour and easy to prepare for home meals.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The year 2025 marked a pivotal milestone for Vietnam’s seafood industry in its restructuring process toward sustainability, transparency, and higher value creation, amid continued uncertainties in the global economic and trade environment. Prolonged inflation in major economies, the rising trend of trade protectionism, and increasingly stringent requirements related to environmental standards, traceability, and social responsibility have posed significant challenges to seafood production and exports. Nevertheless, overcoming these pressures, Vietnam’s seafood sector has gradually demonstrated its adaptability, maintained growth momentum, and laid an important foundation for the next stage of development.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Amid the increasingly evident impacts of drought and saltwater intrusion, the shrimp-rice production model in Ca Mau province continues to prove itself as a viable direction, contributing to higher farmer incomes, improved soil conditions and the promotion of ecological and sustainable agricultural development.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The management of fishing vessels, monitoring of fishing activities, and handling of violations in the fisheries sector in Lam Dong province have continued to be implemented in a synchronized and stringent manner, contributing to raising awareness of legal compliance among fishermen and aiming to end illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Can Tho’s fishery industry sustained steady growth in 2025 with total aquatic and marine output reaching nearly 783,000 tons, fulfilling 100% of the annual target. Aquaculture, capture fisheries and fishing fleet management were further strengthened, aiming for sustainable development in the coming years.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In 2025, Vietnam’s pangasius export turnover reached nearly USD 2.2 billion, up 8% year-on-year. This result indicates that pangasius exports maintained their growth momentum despite significant volatility in the global market environment. In December 2025, pangasius export value reached USD 200 million, up 10% compared to December 2024. This solid performance in the final month of the year reflects increased import demand for consumption and inventory replenishment in key markets.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In 2025, Vietnam’s tuna exports to Spain experienced significant fluctuations. According to Vietnam Customs, during the first 11 months of 2025, export turnover for the first 11 months of the year edged up by 0.3% year-on-year, reaching nearly $15 million.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son has signed Decision No. 16/QD-TTg, dated January 5, 2026, approving the implementation plan for the Vietnam-Israel Free Trade Agreement (VIFTA). Under the plan, in the coming period, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-affiliated entities and People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities must institutionalize and execute tasks focused on the dissemination of information regarding VIFTA and the Israeli market; legislative and institutional development, as well as enhancing competitiveness and human resource growth...
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Beyond achieving double-digit growth, Vietnam’s fish cake and surimi exports are showing a notable year-end "inflection point": the EU his accelerating with nearly twofold growth, China & Hong Kong are rising sharply, while the largest market, South Korea, signaled a slowdown in November. According to Vietnam Customs data, export turnover of fish cake and surimi reached $327 million in the first 11 months of 2025, up 22% year-on-year; November 2025 alone accounted for $35 million, marking a 5% increase. This serves as a critical foundation for exporters to reassess market structures and competitive intensity while finalizing order strategies for 2026.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Ca Mau, widely regarded as the nation’s “shrimp capital”, continued its strong performance in 2025 as shrimp output reached nearly 600,000 tons, maintaining its position as Vietnam’s leading shrimp-producing locality.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On December 29, 2025, at the 2025 Pangasius Industry Review Conference held in Can Tho City, the Vietnam Pangasius Association announced that fingerling prices have surged to record levels due to acute supply shortages.
VASEP - HIỆP HỘI CHẾ BIẾN VÀ XUẤT KHẨU THỦY SẢN VIỆT NAM
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