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Pangasius for export is popular in many countries thanks to its good price. Photo: VNA

Dominate the market with good prices

In the context of record inflation in some countries, the prices of food items have increased. Pangasius products with the advantage of affordable prices have become the right choice for many consumers around the world, so Vietnamese pangasius processing and exporting enterprises quickly increase their market share in other countries.

According to statistics from Vietnam Customs, in the first eight months of 2022, Vietnam's pangasius exports reached over US$1.8 billion, up 81% over the same period last year. In which, pangasius exports to the US market - a market with high inflation - accounted for 23% with more than US$421 million, up 87%.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), it is expected that in the first nine months of 2022, pangasius exports will reach more than US$2 billion, up 81% over the same period last year. With this result, Vietnamese pangasius processing and exporting enterprises have cut costs, lowered prices, at the same time coordinated with importers and transporters to adjust reasonable costs for the parties to have a reasonable price.

Nguyen Ngo Vi Tam, General Director of Vinh Hoan Joint Stock Company, said that Vietnam is the largest pangasius exporter in the world, pangasius has gained market share in many major markets thanks to good prices.

Responding to inflation, Vietnamese pangasius processing and exporting enterprises have actively shared a part of transportation costs with partners and importers to maintain reasonable prices, making good use of market demand to maintain long-term growth momentum. Therefore, Vietnamese pangasius always has a very good price, chosen by foreign consumers, especially in the context of high inflation. In the first 8 months of this year, Vinh Hoan Joint Stock Company ranked first in the country in terms of export turnover of seafood and pangasius with nearly US$294 million, up 70% over the same period last year.

According to analysis by VASEP, inflation in the UK is at a 40-year record high and is almost the highest in European countries, so consumption of high-priced food items is limited.

As a result, exports of shrimp, tuna and some marine fish species to the UK dropped sharply. Meanwhile, pangasius exports still maintained a growth rate of 16% because pangasius was affordable, moreover, the UK was short of white fish due to the ban on seafood from Russia, so pangasius became a substitute fish in the market.

In terms of tariff advantages, the FTA with the UK has a mechanism to follow the EVFTA with the EU, which means that pangasius has a roadmap to reduce tax to 0% after 3 years. Thus, in 2022, this product will almost be imported into the UK with a tax rate of 0%, which is an advantage for Vietnamese pangasius exporters.

According to Le Hang, Deputy Director of VASEP's Training Center, with reasonable prices, it is possible that US pangasius imports will gradually increase in the coming months, when the inflation of food prices in general and seafood prices increases. In particular, making the US market more wobbly, and at the same time entering a cycle of increasing demand for Christmas and New Year. Favorable export thanks to good prices, so the sales of pangasius enterprises increased over the same period. Many pangasius companies increase export sales, such as Van Duc Export Food Processing Company Limited (Tien Giang), up 50%; Bien Dong Seafood, up 36%; Nam Viet Joint Stock Company, up 52%.

Manage to keep orders

The high inflation situation in many countries around the world has had a strong impact on Vietnam's export products, export enterprises have managed to manage to keep orders. As one of the major shrimp exporters in the Mekong Delta, Mr. Ho Quoc Luc, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sao Ta Food Joint Stock Company, said that inflation in the US is high, exchange rates fluctuate, and increased sales have made Vietnam's shrimp exports to the US difficult in recent months. Meanwhile, major competitors in the US market such as Ecuador and India have both advantages in freight rates because of their proximity and cheap shrimp.

Shrimp exports to Japan seem to be better than the US and EU markets due to lower freight rates. With the market strategy, Sao Ta has adjusted, choosing Japan as the No. 1 target market, because it finds advantages here such as low logistics costs that do not increase consumer prices, fast payment, and demanding products.

Many other businesses also manage to find markets to keep orders. Vietnam's shrimp exports to Japan in August this year recorded a growth of 120% to over US$67 million. In 8 months, shrimp exports to this market reached US$463 million USD, up 21% over the same period last year.

Accounting for nearly half of seafood export turnover, Vietnam's main shrimp export product is recorded to dominate many major markets. However, in recent times, export enterprises have faced many difficulties when increasing inflation. In the first eight months of this year, in the top 10 main shrimp import markets of Vietnam, shrimp exports to the US and UK decreased, while exports to the remaining markets all grew positively.

In August 2022, Vietnam's shrimp exports reached more than US$398 million, up 41% over the same period in 2021. Accumulated in the first 8 months of this year, shrimp exports reached more than US$3 billion, up 24%. According to Kim Thu's analysis, despite recording growth, Vietnam's shrimp exports as of August this year are facing many problems in terms of raw material supply, transportation costs, and increased production costs. while consumption demand in major markets such as the US and EU slowed down in the context of high inflation and a decline in economic growth in these countries.

Shrimp exports to the US began to level off from May and decreased continuously from June to August, making shrimp export turnover to the US in the first eight months of this year more than US$619 million, down 9% over the same period.

Despite facing many challenges, most export enterprises are currently accelerating, trying to fill year-end orders, and striving to bring seafood export turnover to US$10 billion.