Raw pangasius and shrimp prices in the Mekong Delta decreased slightly

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the price of raw pangasius in the Mekong Delta provinces in December decreased slightly by 500 - 700 dong/kg compared to the previous month, reaching around 28,500 - 29,000 VND/kg for pangasius size 800g-1kg. Large companies increased capacity at the end of the year, but still mainly prioritized catching raw fish in their own system for signed contracts, with few new transactions. Companies exporting to the Chinese market are mainly looking to purchase large fish from 1.2kg or more, but the low fish stock in most localities makes transactions slow.

The price of pangasius fingerling size 28-35 fish/kg in December was at 34,000 - 35,000 VND/kg, down 3,000 - 4,000 VND/kg compared to the previous month. The demand for catching seed of private farmers and businesses tends to be slow due to concerns about the output of the fish market.

Meanwhile, the price of raw shrimp in the Mekong Delta decreased slightly in the context of weak supply and a decline in exports at the end of the year due to declining market demand, difficulties in raw materials and high production costs. 

In Bac Lieu, the average price of frozen black tiger shrimp size 20, 30, 40 pieces/kg is currently at 255,000 VND/kg and 200,000 VND/kg, 145,000 VND/kg, respectively, down 15,000 - 25,000 VND/kg compared to the previous month. Prices of frozen white shrimp size 60, 70 pieces/kg respectively at 100,000 VND/kg, 95,000 VND/kg, down 5,000 VND/kg compared to the previous month; while the larger size of 30 - 40 pieces/kg increased slightly by 5,000 - 10,000 VND/kg due to the scarcity of goods. Export processing factories have not yet signed many contracts for 2023, so although shrimp supply is low, prices are less volatile.

According to statistics, Vietnam seafood export value in December 2022 reached 756 million USD, bringing the seafood export value in 2022 to 10.98 billion USD, up 23.4% compared to 2021.

The US, Japan and China are the top 3 import markets of Vietnamese seafood in the first 11 months of 2022, accounting for 50% of the total seafood exports value. In the first 11 months of 2022, seafood export value increased in all markets. The market with the highest increase in seafood export value is China (up 71.3%).

Estimated import value of seafood products in December 2022 reached 250 million USD, bringing the total value of seafood imports in 2022 to 2.75 billion USD, up 37.8% compared to 2021. In the first 11 months of 2022, Vietnam mainly imported seafood products from India (accounting for 13.9%), Indonesia (10.2%) and Norway (9.4%). Compared to the same period in 2021, Vietnam's seafood import value in the first 11 months of 2022 from India increased by 20.3%, Indonesia up 96.4% and Norway up 15.5%.

Compiled by Thuy Linh