The popularity of pangasius and the efforts of the Vietnamese business community to bring pangasius to the world have helped the industry bring in a large amount of foreign currency each year. With an export turnover of $1.5-2.4 billion/year, pangasius accounts for 16-26% of Vietnam's total seafood export value.
Looking back at the pangasius export picture from 2017 to 2022 and 2023 forecast
Pressured by anti-dumping tax barriers in the US market every year, being "bummed" by the media in the EU because of competition with white fish and other market barriers, but Vietnamese pangasius is still strongly reaching out to the world market and affirming its position. This is thanks to the growth of the Vietnamese pangasius export and processing business community, knowing how to seize market opportunities, overcome challenges and barriers, and build the prestige of Vietnamese products.
Pangasius has become the No. 1 favorite farmed white fish in many markets such as the EU, Mexico, UK, China, Japan, the Middle East countries and increased market share in major markets like USA and Russia.
In the past 6 years, pangasius exports have experienced a period of ups and downs, mainly affected by the Covid pandemic from 2020 to 2021.
Accordingly, in 2020, pangasius exports fell to the lowest level of nearly 1.5 billion USD, down 26% compared to 2019. The strong outbreak of Covid in the world market, especially in the US and EU causing demand to decline and more seriously, the disruption of the global trade logistics chain, the sharp increase in sea freight rates, making pangasius enterprises unable to reach markets as far as the Americas and Europe.
Report on Vietnam pangasius sector in 2017-2022, forecast to 2025
In 2021, the consumption market began to recover, but the continuous outbreak of Covid-19 in Vietnam, especially the peak in the third quarter disrupted the entire commercial seafood production chain. Pangasius suffered the most from the pandemic because it was located in the pandemic center and that time should be the time to speed up export production to serve the year end demand. Therefore, although pangasius exports have recovered by 8%, it only reached over 1.6 billion USD.
2022 is considered the "renaissance" period of Vietnam pangasius industry. Vietnam's pangasius exports have made a strong breakthrough with a record of 2.4 billion USD. After the peak of the epidemic, inventories remained high, production and processing recovered, and demand in all markets increased. Pangasius export prices increased by 20-55%, especially in the US market. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has caused the supply of white fish in many markets to decrease, creating opportunities for pangasius to increase market share.
Inflation is reducing the demand for seafood in the world market, pangasius exports will also be partly affected. However, with the advantage of stable supply and affordable prices, pangasius exports will be more stable than other commodities and is expected to make a strong breakthrough as soon as the market stabilizes.
In 2023, white fish is forecasted to face a shortage in supply and a sharp increase in the price. As inflation penetrates the world economies, especially in G7 markets, consumers will continue to tighten spending on high-priced food items. Midde-price food items like pangasius will not be significantly affected. Therefore, Vietnamese pangasius still sees an optimistic opportunity in 2023.
In December 2022, VASEP released the Report on Vietnam pangasius sector 2017-2022 , forecast to 2025 to give businesses and readers a big picture of the development of the pangasius production and export during the past 6 years, including markets growth, the position of pangasius in the total consumption of white fish in the world as well as the main import markets, pangasius exporters to each market and leading importers. The report also provides forecasts for 2023 and to 2025 for the pangasius export sector, the context of each main consuming market.
Compile by Thuy Linh
(vasep.com.vn) In the first eight months of 2026, Brazil became the largest market for Vietnamese tilapia, with export value reaching US$44 million, up 22,142% year-on-year and accounting for 49% of Vietnam’s total tilapia exports. In August alone, exports to Brazil reached US$4 million. However, behind this remarkable growth is a market that is imposing increasingly stringent requirements on imported supplies.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s tuna exports sustained their upward trajectory in August 2026, though the pace remained modest at just 2%. The month saw divergent trends across key markets: the US maintained its leading position, Japan and Canada improved, Russia surged and the EU continued to experience a steep downturn. These developments suggest that exporters are entering the final months of the year amid a market environment marked by greater uncertainty.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Congalsa has acquired the entire charter capital of Lenger Seafood Vietnam, giving it full ownership of the business and its Nam Dinh processing facility.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Ninh Binh Province is entering a peak period of action against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, focusing on thoroughly addressing violations, closely monitoring fishing vessels at ports and preventing vessels from violating regulations and operating illegally in foreign waters ahead of the European Commission’s (EC) upcoming inspection in 2026.
(vasep.com.vn) The application of biotechnology in seed production is increasingly viewed as a strategic imperative to upgrade pangasius fingerling quality, optimize farming efficiency and anchor sustainable industry development.
(vasep.com.vn) On September 15, 2026, in Can Tho, VASEP and ASC jointly organized a training course titled “New ASC standards: updates and practical implementation guidance for farms, businesses and aquafeed mills”. Beyond briefing stakeholders on updated ASC requirements for aquaculture facilities and feed production, the workshop dedicated substantial floor time to directly addressing on-the-ground compliance bottlenecks encountered by Vietnamese enterprises.
(searfood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s tilapia exports continued to post positive results in the first eight months of 2026, with total export value reaching US$90 million, up 43% year-on-year. However, exports in August alone stood at US$11 million, down 8%, reflecting uneven market developments. Brazil remained the leading market, while Japan recorded notable growth, opening up new opportunities for Vietnamese tilapia products.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s shrimp exports reached US$3.3 billion in the first eight months of 2026, up 12% year on year. However, growth has begun to slow and become more differentiated across markets, while the U.S. and EU continue to present significant challenges. The latest insights from the Global Shrimp Forum 2026 (GSF 2026), held in early September, also indicate that the final months of the year will remain highly competitive as global supply continues to expand and buyers increasingly focus on quality, product specifications, supply stability and the ability to meet market-specific demand.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In August 2026, Vietnam’s seafood exports reached $1.14 billion, up 6% year on year. Cumulative eight-month exports rose 11.8% to $8.00 billion, though momentum has cooled compared to the 12.8% growth seen through July. China - Hong Kong and ASEAN are offsetting weakness in the U.S, EU and partly Japan. This divergence will likely widen in Q4 as trade tariffs and traceability requirements directly weigh on new orders.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam–Russia relations are entering a new phase of cooperation, with a focus on expanding trade, investment and economic connectivity. Against this backdrop, tuna is emerging as one of the seafood products with significant growth potential in the Russian market. Export data for the first seven months of 2026 show strong growth in Vietnamese tuna exports to Russia. However, turning this momentum into sustainable market share will require businesses to address challenges related to logistics, payment and supply competition.
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