Tra fish processing for export (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Demand for Vietnam’s tra fish (pangasius) is up in major markets, driving the export of the catfish overseas, reports the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
Tra fish exports are projected to surge a whopping 97 percent year-on-year in the first five months of 2022, reaching 1.1 billion USD.
Besides exporting to traditional markets such as the US and Europe, seafood exporters have expanded markets to take advantage of the new demand. Specifically, Vietnam has trolled new fish markets in Mexico, Egypt and Thailand.
VASEP expert Ta Ha said that the Mexico market has the largest export value in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade bloc.
Tra fish sales to Mexico topped 50 million USD in the first five months of this year, an increase of 70 percent against last year’s figure.
Shipments to Thailand hit nearly 50 million USD during the period, a year-on-year spike of 80 percent. Vietnam exported over 15 million USD worth of tra fish to Egypt, up 85 percent year-on-year.
These are positive signs that tra fish is a favoured seafood product in these fresh new markets.
VASEP reports that the new Thailand market is advantageous in terms of geographical distance. The growing demand for tra fish imports has attracted many Vietnamese businesses to this Southeast Asia country. There are as many as 60 enterprises currently shipping tra fish to the Thai market.
The US remains one of the key markets of Vietnamese tra fish. It recently licensed six more Vietnamese pangasius processing factories to export to the market.
Tra fish exports to the US were estimated to hit 243 million USD in the first five months of this year, up 130 percent from a year earlier.
Meanwhile, two more Vietnamese enterprises have been permitted to export seafood products to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) by Russia's Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (FSVPS).
However, experts said that even though these moves will promote export growth, it is necessary for enterprises to source enough tra fish for production.
Le Thanh Thuan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of IDI International Development and Investment Corporation, said strong recovery of consumer demand has made it difficult for manufacturers to fill orders in recent months. They are operating at full capacity to meet the sharp increase in orders.
Currently, the corporation has full orders until the end of the second quarter, he said, adding that it has begun stockpiling fish for the revival of such big markets as Mexico and Brazil./.
