Recovery in pangasius price in the U.S.

Between January and March 2013, Vietnam exported less pangasius products to the U.S. compared to the first quarter of 2012. However, in the first four months of 2013, export value reached the same level of that of 2012 thanks to stronger sales in April.

According to Vietnam Customs, the country gained US$113.19 million from sales to the U.S. in January - April 2013, up 0.1 percent. The April exports reported the highest revenue of US$40.69 million, up 31.3 percent, while those in the first quarter only had worth of around US$20 – 26 million per month.

A month after the DOC’s decision of POR8 on imported pangasius, Vietnamese fish exports to the U.S. still rose in April 2013 as exporters, which are subject to higher antidumping duty, continued shipping products to this market.

This is because these companies did not have to immediately pay the antidumping tax imposed in POR8 after they filed a lawsuit against DOC’s decision to U.S. Court of International Trade.

In 2012, Vietnam pangasius industry earned US$358.8 million from the U.S. market, up 8.2 percent over that of 2011. Beacon Fisheries, a U.S. company specialized in seafood import and distributions, said that it has traded 80,000 pounds of pangasius, 2 fold higher than 40,000 pounds of the previous year because American consumers chose to buy more pangasius than domestically farmed-raised catfish.

The U.S. purchased a large volume of tilapia, showing a very high demand for freshwater fish in this market. The U.S National Marine Fisheries Service (MNFS) reported that tilapia imports reached 230,023 MT, worth US$978.4 million, up 20 percent in volume and 16.7 percent in value on those in 2011. Supply of fresh and frozen fillets and fresh fish meat from other key partners, like Honduras and Ecuador, also soar.

American consumers are interested in sustainably-certified seafood and freshwater fish products; therefore, sustainable certifications will be an advantage of pangasius in the market. In the survey of approximately 3,000 Americans, 32 percent said that it is important to them that the seafood they purchase is sustainably caught, and 21 percent said it is “very important” that their seafood is sustainable. In addition, 22 percent of Americans said they would be willing to pay between 10 to 20 percent more for sustainably-caught seafood, while 51 percent said they would not be willing to pay extra for sustainable seafood.

However, it is important to note that the U.S. market is not ready to consume ASC-labeled pangasius, which has higher price than uncertified fish. Fish with ASC certificate are just sold in the EU. Many U.S. retailers and even consumers ask for ASC pangasius but they do not agree to pay more for this fish.

Though ASC certification did not create a breakthrough in the U.S. market, Vietnamese pangasius exporters still expect a promising future of these labeled-fish products.