At the beginning of the year, China spent 4.5 times more money than the same period last year to buy a fish species from Vietnam.

According to Vietnam Customs, in January 2024, Vietnam's pangasius exports to markets reached 165 million USD, double that of the same period in 2023, of which, pangasius export turnover to China & Hong Kong reached 52 million USD, 4 times higher than January 2023. The Chinese market alone bought more than 48 million USD worth of pangasius from Vietnam, 4.5 times higher than the same period last year.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), Vietnam's pangasius export turnover to China and Hong Kong in the first month of 2024 witnessed the highest growth compared to the same period in the past 5 years.

This value is one and a half times higher than the export turnover of pangasius to China and Hong Kong in January 2022 - a record year for Vietnamese pangasius exports, and accounts for 32% of total Vietnamese pangasius exports to markets.

China continues to be the leading market for Vietnamese pangasius consumption in January 2024. According to experts, in 2024, China is still identified as a key seafood export market of Vietnam, expected to achieve high growth.

Mới đầu năm Trung Quốc đã chi tiền gấp 4,5 lần cùng kỳ năm ngoái để mua một loài cá của Việt Nam- Ảnh 1. — Orders from China increased, raw pangasius prices increased to 28,000 - 29,000 VND/kg in early 2024. Photo: KN

In 2024, this billion-people country will be one of the main driving forces for seafood exports, including Vietnamese pangasius, when the COVID-19 pandemic has ended, China's economy has shown positive signs, and consumer demand for pangasius is recovering.

The geographical location is convenient for Vietnamese enterprises to export to China, and transportation costs are optimized compared to other markets. In addition, China's suspension of seafood imports from Japan brings export opportunities to many other countries in the world, including Vietnam.

According to some businesses, orders in January and February 2024 began to improve, the price of raw pangasius has bottomed out, increasing from 25,000 - 26,000 VND/kg in 2023 to 28,000 - 29,000 VND/kg in early 2024. VASEP experts said that pangasius exports this year are forecast to increase slightly compared to 2023, possibly reaching 2 billion USD, an increase of more than 10% compared to 1.8 billion USD in 2023, in which China and Hong Kong continue to maintain their position as the largest consumer markets for Vietnamese pangasius.

However, the supply of raw pangasius in Vietnam is low due to the recent low fish prices and slow recovery in exports, which has caused many farmers to limit the expansion of their farming areas. In addition, diseases and unfavorable weather in the Mekong Delta have increased the loss rate of fish fry, affecting the supply of fish fry.

Pangasius imports of the Chinese market depend heavily on the country's economic situation. When the economic situation is stable and improves, Chinese importers will increase imports and one of the priority choices in the Vietnamese market is pangasius.

Source