Ta Ha, an expert at the VASEP, revealed that the total Vietnamese export value of pangasius to the ASEAN market during the past 10 months of the year dropped by 17% to US$94.2 million against the same period from last year.
Most notably, pangasius exports to Thailand, the largest market within the ASEAN region, during the reviewed period fell by 6.42% on year to US$43.6 million compared to the same period from last year, followed by Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
With these countries moving from living with zero-COVID strategies to living safely alongside the virus, there are bright prospects ahead for local businesses to boost exports to these markets.
The Philippines and Indonesia represent two notable markets that witnessed robust growth throughout the reviewed period, of which pangasius exports to the Philippines rose by 33.3% to US$14 million.
According to VASEP, the total export value of Vietnamese pangasius during the ten-month period reached US$1.21 billion, of which processed Tra fish exports endured a decline of more than 50%.
Moreover, local pangasius exports to a number of potential markets fell, with exports to the Chinese market suffered a decline of 27.6% to only US$310.2 million.
With China moving to tightening control over imported products, Chinese imports of white fish, including pangasius, are anticipated to plummet from now to the end of the year.
On the contrary, the export value of Tra fish exports to the United States in October alone reached nearly US$42 million, the highest level in the top 10 largest pangasius export markets, with the figure being nearly double that of the previous month.
Pangasius exports to the demanding market surged by 47.2% to US$289.6 million against last year's corresponding period.
Ha pointed out that in the event that the growth rate of pangasius exports to the US market in the fourth quarter is maintained, then the US is projected to become the largest Tra fish export market of Vietnam this year.
Businesses in the Mekong Delta region have been advised to actively control the pandemic in order to increase exports to neighbouring markets which have showed signs of recovery.