Vietnamese pangasius exports to Russia accelerate after two years of war

At the end of February 2022, Vietnamese seafood in Russia, including pangasius, must compete more strongly with some other suppliers, such as China, India, and Bangladesh, when this country increases trade due to the effects of the conflict. The Russia-Ukraine conflict affects world shipping and trade settlement processes. China and Russia share a common border, so, understandably, Russia depends more on this supplier instead of choosing other sources of supply that go through maritime areas affected by war.

However, two years after the Russia-Ukraine conflict occurred, despite implementing the policy of increasing exports and reducing imports, for Pangasius, Vietnam is still the number one supplier in Russia. According to Vietnam Customs data, in May 2024, Vietnamese pangasius exports to Russia increased 6.5 times compared to the same period in 2023. By the end of May 2024, cumulative Vietnamese pangasius exports to Russia reached more than 8 million USD, up 35% over the same period last year.

Unlike other markets, Russia almost does not import VAT pangasius products but focuses more on dried pangasius and other frozen products and frozen pangasius fillets from Vietnam.

Exports of dried pangasius and other frozen products (HS code 03, except pangasius HS code 0304) to Russia in the first 5 months of this year recorded an increase of 77% over the same period last year. However, Russia's demand for this product is unstable, as it continuously increases and decreases, typically, in May 2024, this country recorded a growth of 8.5 times compared to May 2023 and an increase of 3 times. compared to the previous month, while April 2024 just witnessed a negative growth of 35% compared to the same period in 2023.

Frozen pangasius fillets were still the main product Vietnam exports to Russia, accounting for 80% of the proportion in the first 5 months of this year. In May 2024, exports of frozen pangasius fillets to this market reached more than 2 million USD, an increase of 6.5 times compared to the same period last year. This is also the highest value of frozen pangasius fillet exports to Russia since the beginning of this year.

The top 5 Vietnamese enterprises exporting pangasius to Russia include Que Ky, Nam Viet, Hung Ca, Tran Han, and Van Y, with the following main products: frozen pangasius fillets (HS code 03046200), whole pangasius cut into butterflies (HS code 03032400), frozen cut pangasius fillets (HS code 03046200),...

Cumulatively, for the first 5 months of the years, from 2021 to 2024, Vietnamese pangasius exports to Russia decreased from 17 million USD in the first 5 months of 2021 to 8 million USD in the first 5 months of this year. The war has had a significant impact on pangasius export activities to this market. However, compared to the same period last year, Vietnamese pangasius exports to Russia in the first five months of this year had shown positive signs of recovery.

President Vladimir Putin paid a state visit to Vietnam in the last days of June, right at the time the two countries celebrated the 30th anniversary of signing the Treaty on the Basic Principles of Friendly Relations between Vietnam and the Russian Federation. This event has important significance, further deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Russia in all fields and raising the level of the new situation, especially in the context of the two countries' ongoing efforts to realize the Joint Declaration on the vision of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership until 2030, while opening up new opportunities for export trade, including exporting pangasius to Russia.