Why not US$3.5 per kilogram for pangasius fillet to the EU?

At the European Seafood Exposition (ESE), many pangasius importers refused to close deal with Vietnam suppliers at US$2.7 per kilogram (FOB, Ho Chi Minh City). At VND22,000 – 24,000 per kilogram of domestic raw fish, even if fish could be sold at US$2.7, both pangasius processors and farmers would only reach breakeven. In fact, some other companies insist on keeping offers at high level of US$3.2 – 3.5 per kilogram. In their opinion, pangasius products are currently traded in supermarket chain at US$13 per kilogram, so fish importers and retailers still reach a great deal if they accept to purchase pangasius at US$3.5. However, European purchasers hesitated to buy fish due to low fish consumption in the region.

Fish consumption in the EU is weakening. According to International Trade Center (ITC), shipment of seafood (HS code 03) to the market in January 2012 totaled US$2.56 billion, a drop of nearly 9 percent from the same month last year. On the one hand, the drop in import value was caused by financial difficulties in European countries. On the other hand, other EU’s seafood suppliers, particularly Thailand, reduced shipments to this market because of less attractive export price.

In the first months of 2012, Thailand’s export of all varieties of fish to the EU fell about 10 percent, in which tilapia reported the strongest drop.

Statistics from Thailand Customs and Thai Frozen Food Association (TFFA) showed that in January and February 2012, shipment of frozen and fresh tilapia from Thailand to the EU was down 99.73 percent from the same period of 2012. However, fish’s average export price went up to Baht90,000 per MT. Export volume of tilapia fillet was also dropped 93 percent, but average export price was 5 times higher than that of the first two months of 2011.

According to Vietnam Customs, the number of Vietnam exporters to the EU decreased sharply from the same period of 2011, especially many companies stopped to ship to the block although it was considered as their main and traditional market.

An exporter shared that the EU accounted for 50 percent of the company’s total exports. However, since early 2012, it has stopped supplying fish to the market because consumption of fish remained weak there and importers offered a very low price while the firm tried to sell fish at more than US$3.0 per kilogram. “Stanstill business with the EU makes us difficult, but we accept to wait and hope for a new period of higher fish price. We accept the difficult time to keep the real value for pangasius”.

Pangasius is a famous and special fish of Vietnam which is seen as an alternative for the world’s main whitemeat fish species. The fish became more and more popular and gains lots of confidence of consumers in the EU and global market. In the tough economic situation when European consumers have to cut expenses in every way, they are still looking for a good quality fish with reasonable prices like pangasius. Therefore, EU importers and retailers have to keep pangasius on supermarket shelves if they want to attract customers.

Should Vietnam pangasius exporters stop supply fish to the EU within a month to wait the market to recover? And why not US$3.5 per kilogram for pangasius fillet?