Pangasius exports in the first quarter increased slightly by 3% - still not an optimistic sign

In the first quarter of 2021, the total export value of pangasius reached 344.2 million USD, up 3% over the same period in 2020. In which, the export value to the US, China - Hong Kong, Brazil, Mexico, Thailand, Colombia, Russia and the UAE all rose.

The US

By the end of March 2021, pangasius export value to the US market reached 71.6 million USD, up 16% over the same period in March last year and accounted for 20.81% of the total export value. Particularly in March 2021, pangasius exports to this market also increased by 23.8%. In the past few years, the US catfish industry is facing difficulties when the area and production of aquaculture have decreased sharply. Therefore, this country increased imports of pangasius products to fill this shortfall. According to sources from some importers, US inventories have been depleted since the beginning of this year, so the demand for US pangasius imports will likely increase gradually in the near future.

China - Hong Kong

Tightening control of imported food for the reason that the corona virus is transmitted through products has caused a bottleneck in exporting pangasius of Vietnamese enterprises to China at the end of 2020. However, according to the assessment of Exporting enterprises, from March 2021, trade activities have been busy again. This is also reflected by the export value to China in March 2021 increased by nearly 28% over the same period last year, reaching 44.4 million USD, the highest export value in the top 10 markets, accounting for 30 .5% of total export value of pangasius. By the end of March 2021, the export value of pangasius to this market reached 69.7 million USD, up 10.3% over the same period in 2020.

CPTPP

The export value of pangasius to this market group is considered to be the most positive in January 2021 when some markets in the group increased imports. However, in March 2021, the import value of pangasius of the CPTPP decreased by 6.2% compared to the same period last year. As of March 2021, the export value of pangasius to this market reached 52.6 million USD, down 5.1%. In which, the export value to some markets decreased: Australia decreased by 2.3%; Singapore down 9.4%; Japan fell 21%.

Russia

Russia is a market that attracts a lot of attention on the picture of Vietnamese pangasius exports in the first 3 months of this year. This market used to be a potential traditional market of enterprises in the past 10 years. However, with a different import policy compared to other markets, pangasius exporters to this market also experienced many ups and downs. In the first three months of this year, this market stands out for the growth of pangasius imports up to 126.3 percent over the same period last year, reaching 10 million USD (after the UK market). Particularly in March 2021, the export value to this market reached 4.46 million USD, up more than 700% over the same period last year.

Thus, Vietnam's pangasius exports in the first 3 months of this year have begun to gradually revive after a year of being interrupted by Covid-19 and crisis in some major markets. However, if only looking at this growth rate, pangasius exporters are not optimistic because right from the beginning of this year, input costs have increased sharply, shipping costs have also skyrocketed ... strongly affecting costs and prices of pangasius companies.