Many enterprises in the Mekong Delta are making efforts to export tra fish and increase domestic sales. However, the production and export of tra fish is facing many difficulties.
Careful breeder
Dong Thap is the province with the largest pangasius farming area in the Mekong Delta. In the first 6 months of 2023, the whole province raised more than 1,857 hectares, harvesting 205,318 tons. Meanwhile, 22 pangasius processing enterprises for export in Dong Thap are facing difficulties due to reduced output from key markets such as China, the US, the EU, etc., causing the purchase price at the farming pond to also decrease.
Mr. Vo Be Hien - Head of the Department of Animal Husbandry, Veterinary and Fisheries of Dong Thap province - said that the price of commercial pangasius fish at the pond is around 27,000 - 29,000 VND/kg. "At this time, fish are also selling slowly because businesses have reduced export output. This has led to a sharp drop in the price of pangasius fry, currently selling for only 18,000 VND/kg in some places" - he cited.
According to Mr. NVM (residing in Hong Ngu City, Dong Thap Province), his family has several pangasius ponds that are in the stage of having to sell but are facing some difficulties. "Large enterprises only buy fish from their ponds or contracted farming areas, not from outside ponds. Small enterprises buy sporadically and buy in short supply, so now I have to sell fish at a loss" - he worried.
The locality with the second largest pangasius farming area in the Mekong Delta is An Giang . Since the beginning of 2023, it has stocked 1,082 hectares and harvested more than 778 hectares, with a total output of about 308,984 tons. Pangasius in An Giang mainly comes from farming areas of enterprises and enterprises associated with households. Currently, people are hesitant to stock again because they are waiting for the export market to improve.
"I have sold all the fish and "suspended the pond" for the past 2-3 months. Farmers must monitor the upcoming pangasius export situation before releasing the fish. Pangasius farming now must be done carefully and not based on emotions and in a rush like before" - Mr. LCT (residing in Long Xuyen City, An Giang Province) expressed.
Mr. Tran Anh Dung, Head of the Department of Fisheries of An Giang province, said that currently, the area for raising pangasius fry of households and enterprises is decreasing. If the export situation improves again, the farming area will increase very quickly.
Mr. Dung commented: "The price of fingerlings has decreased and the quantity has not increased. Therefore, households raising fingerlings still keep the price fluctuating from 26,000 - 35,000 VND/kg. If pangasius exports increase again, farmers and businesses will speed up the release of fingerlings. This is not difficult because pangasius farmers in the area have a lot of experience after many years of working in this profession."
Amid difficulties in exporting pangasius, many businesses have proactively developed the domestic market.
Positive signal
Amidst difficulties in exporting pangasius, many businesses have proactively developed the domestic market. However, this market is still quite small.
For example, Nam Viet Group (An Giang) set a target of bringing 15% of value-added products from tra fish to the domestic market. However, since the beginning of the year, this company has only been able to bring out about 7% due to lack of purchasing power.
Some enterprises are opening up the export direction of pangasius to Cambodia and some neighboring markets. Meanwhile, information about pangasius exports to Germany maintaining positive growth has slightly "warmed up" the export market for this product. As of mid-June 2023, Vietnamese pangasius exports to Germany reached more than 17 million USD, up 53% over the same period last year and accounting for 2.1% of the total export value of pangasius to markets.
Although this is a small signal, it is still very hopeful that the pangasius export market in general and the pangasius industry in the Mekong Delta region in particular will soon recover. Therefore, the two localities with the largest pangasius farming areas in the West, Dong Thap and An Giang, have made plans to be ready to catch up when the export market for this product accelerates.
An Giang Fisheries Department forecasts that in the last months of 2023, the world economy has not shown signs of recovery, pangasius processing and export activities have not shown signs of increasing, large enterprises are still operating at a standstill, so that farming and seed production activities will be affected. However, the Department still expects that in the third and fourth quarters of 2023, purchasing power in the market will increase again so that the An Giang pangasius industry will achieve a harvest output of about 254,000 tons.
Improve the quality of breeding stock
The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dong Thap province has set a task from now until the end of 2023 to continue developing the pangasius industry, considering it a key product in aquaculture, an important economic sector of the province; at the same time, developing a variety of products with strengths to serve the domestic and export markets.
To date, 377 pangasius farms in Dong Thap have been granted identification codes covering approximately 1,624 hectares of water surface. To improve the quality of the breed, Dong Thap has coordinated with the Directorate of Fisheries to support local authorities in selecting breeds that grow quickly and are disease resistant.
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