Vietnam's pangasius exports navigated a challenging 2024, achieving USD 2 billion in export turnover with steady, albeit slow, growth. Shifts in consumer preferences, market adjustments, and fluctuations in geopolitical factors, including conflicts, freight rates, and tariffs, presented unavoidable obstacles in the current climate.
However, the paramount factor enabling a product to maintain a strong market presence and earn consumer trust remains high quality coupled with reasonable pricing. High-quality finished products stem from sound production and processing procedures adhering to food safety and hygiene standards. To achieve this, harvested pangasius must meet size requirements and be disease-free before entering processing plants. Healthy and carefully selected fingerlings, raised in optimal conditions, determine the final product quality.
The average farming period for pangasius is 10 months, with fish reaching a size of 0.7-1.5 kg/fish, meeting commercial pangasius standards. This extended farming period requires patience, meticulous care, close monitoring of the fish stock, and prompt detection and isolation of diseased fish to ensure sufficient output for processing, production, and export. Thus, farmers are a crucial driving force for increased production and exports. Profitable farming incentivizes expansion of ponds, mitigating the issue of idle ponds.
2025 is considered a pivotal year for Vietnam's seafood export sector, with Vietnamese farmers and fishermen as the core driving force. 2025 also promises to be a year of new milestones for pangasius exports.
Regarding consumption markets, China & Hong Kong remain the leading destinations for Vietnamese pangasius exports. In December 2024 alone, pangasius exports to this market reached over USD 52 million, a 19% increase year-on-year. Cumulative pangasius exports to China & Hong Kong for the entire year 2024 reached over USD 580 million, a slight 1.3% increase compared to 2023.
The US continues to hold second place, after China, among the largest importers of Vietnamese pangasius. In the final month of 2024, pangasius exports to the US reached nearly USD 28 million, a 40% increase compared to December 2023.
Pangasius exports to the CPTPP bloc also recorded 10% growth in 2024, reaching over USD 274 million. Within the bloc, Mexico remains the leading importer of pangasius from Vietnam. In 2024, pangasius exports to Mexico reached USD 76 million, a 4% increase compared to 2023.
Pangasius exports to the EU in the final month of 2024 also reached nearly USD 16 million, an 18% increase compared to December 2023. The Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and Spain are among the top importers of Vietnamese pangasius within the bloc. However, unlike other countries, pangasius exports to Germany alone witnessed a 2% decrease in 2024, with a value of over USD 37 million.
Furthermore, pangasius export turnover to some other markets also achieved positive results and recorded positive growth, such as Brazil with a 15% increase, Thailand with a 4% increase, and Colombia with a 36% increase.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In the final quarter of 2024, Vietnam’s surimi and fish cake exports showed consistent growth over the last three months. For the entire year 2024, exports of these products reached USD 298 million, down 2% compared to 2023. However, the final quarter saw more promising signs for the surimi and fish cake export sector, with some markets experiencing notable growth, such as Thailand, China, and Taiwan. Particularly, exports to Taiwan, which had seen continuous declines in the previous two quarters, surged by 301% in this quarter.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Another year of pride for Vietnam's pangasius exports has concluded, reaching over USD 2 billion and contributing 20% to Vietnam's total seafood export turnover.
Vietnam maintained its position as the fifth-largest seafood exporter to Singapore for 12 consecutive months, surpassing Japan for the first time in 2024, amid the intensifying competition in this market.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Despite facing numerous challenges in the second half of the year, Vietnam's canned tuna exports concluded 2024 with a 17% increase compared to 2023, reaching USD 299 million. To maintain this growth momentum in 2025, the canned tuna production and export sector requires coordinated efforts from all stakeholders.
SSI forecasts a 28% year-on-year increase in after-tax profit attributable to the parent company of Vinh Hoan Corporation (VHC), driven by a gradual improvement in average selling prices from USD 3.15/kg in 2024 to USD 3.30/kg (+5%) in 2025. An Giang Fisheries Import-Export Joint Stock Company (ANV)'s after-tax profit attributable to the parent company is projected to rebound by 104%.
In 2025, the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu aims to earn 1.2 billion USD from exporting shrimp, one of the key export products that accounts for over 95% of its total export value.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The Report on Vietnam Pangasius Sector 2015–2024, produced and released by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) in January 2025, is expected to provide enterprises, importers, and government agencies with a comprehensive overview of key developments in Vietnam's pangasius production and export over the past decade. In addition to highlighting achievements, the report identifies existing challenges and analyzes future opportunities and threats for the pangasius industry.
(vasep.com.vn) Overcoming two years of fluctuation in both export markets and domestic production, Vietnam's pangasius industry has demonstrated resilience, adaptability, and a strong determination to seize opportunities and boost exports to various markets. As a result, in 2024, pangasius exports reached USD 2 billion, a 9% increase compared to 2023. This achievement is a source of pride for Vietnam's aquaculture and agriculture sectors.
(seafood.vasep.com) Speaking at a conference to implement the 2025 plan of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh urged the agricultural sector to strive for a total export turnover of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products reaching $70 billion by 2025.
With robust production and processing infrastructure, combined with continuous market development efforts, Vietnam’s seafood exports are poised for 10–15% growth in 2025.
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