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
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s seafood exports in February 2026 reached approximately USD 707 million, up 8% compared to the same period last year. Cumulatively, exports in the first two months of 2026 totaled USD 1.7 billion, an increase of 20.2% year-on-year. The results show that the sector’s recovery momentum has remained relatively solid following strong growth in January, although the pace slowed noticeably in February for several key products and major markets. Within the overall picture, shrimp continues to be the largest pillar, pangasius rebounds strongly, while tuna exports and the U.S. and Korean markets are sending signals that warrant closer monitoring. In March, seafood exports are expected to gain additional momentum from markets other than the U.S., potentially supporting stronger growth.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In the first months of 2026, fishing activities in Quang Tri province recorded many positive signals, with output reaching over 15,941 tons. This result not only demonstrates fishermen’s efforts to stay offshore but also reflects the effectiveness of management and support measures implemented by local authorities.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In the first months of 2026, IUU prevention models focused on communication and mobilizing fishermen to comply with fisheries laws and avoid encroaching on foreign waters—related to combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing—have been implemented in coastal localities of Lam Dong province and have delivered initial positive results.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The sharp rise in raw pangasius prices to record levels is sending positive signals for the industry, but experts warn of potential supply–demand imbalances if production is not tightly controlled.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) According to statistics from Vietnam Customs, the country’s total canned tuna export value in 2025 reached over USD 275 million, down 8% compared to 2024. Vietnamese canned tuna products were present in approximately 80 markets worldwide. However, the 2025 picture shows clear divergence: the U.S. maintained stability, the EU declined sharply, while several Middle East–North Africa (MENA) markets accelerated.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In 2025, Vietnam’s crab exports reached nearly USD 86 million, up almost 6% compared to 2024. A notable feature of 2025 was the strong market concentration in the United States, which accounted for more than 81% of Vietnam’s total crab export value, up 10% from the previous year. In contrast, exports to several Asian markets declined significantly, resulting in only modest overall growth for the year.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In 2025, Vietnam’s tilapia exports recorded impressive growth, with total export turnover reaching over USD 99 million, highlighting the increasingly important role of this product in the country’s seafood export structure. Of this total, tilapia fillets and other fish meat products accounted for USD 61 million, representing 61% of total export value and reaffirming their position as the key product category.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Shrimp seed quality is considered the “first link” and a decisive factor affecting the efficiency of the entire commercial shrimp production chain. High-quality seed directly influences survival rates, growth performance, and disease resistance, thereby determining production costs, productivity, and farmers’ profitability.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) As part of its agricultural restructuring strategy toward sustainability, Quang Tri Province is gradually promoting environmentally friendly aquaculture models. Among these, organic-oriented golden pompano farming is considered a promising direction, aligned with the goals of enhancing production value and building sustainable rural areas.
(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.
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