Pangasius material price increased

The price of Vietnamese pangasius reached a new high in September 2018 while the material shortage continued to last in the summer and fall this year.

Export price to EU has increased since Vietfish exhibition at the end of August 2018. The price of imported Pangasius to the EU after the exhibition is at 3.20 USD / kg (FOB price) for fillets. The price at the end of September and the beginning of October 2018 was up to 3.40 USD / kg. Prices of raw pangasius increased, so many processing companies postponed orders to reduce farm prices. The current price is 3.35 USD / kg. The demand for pangasius fillets of 120-170 grams is very low, similar to the demand of 170-220 grams is also low; The prices of these products are high because of the lack of raw materials to produce these fillets. In addition, raw materials to produce sizes that EU consumers prefer (120-170,170-220g) are seriously deficient at this time. The farm gate price reached 35,000 VND / kg (1.49 USD / kg) at the end of September 2018 and slightly decreased to 34,000 VND / kg at the beginning of October. The beginning of September 2018 increased from 24,000 VND / kg to 31,000 VND / kg within 2 weeks.   The Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has reported a shortage of raw materials since June 2018, when prices at farms in the Mekong Delta reached 31,000-33,000 VND / kg; up from 27,000-29,000 VND / kg at the beginning of 2018. Although the price is expected to be stable at the highest level in the last 5 years, the lack of healthy fingerlings is going on. The source of fingerlings in the market is not enough while the bad weather is unfavorable for the fry and the proportion of juveniles under 20g is still high.The shortage of available raw materials is affecting the overall price level. Many people who do not have a good relationship or ownership in the hatchery will have difficulty in receiving fingerlings, so the fish they receive is C quality, not B or A. The Global Forecast Conference for Recent Aquaculture Leadership in Guayaquil, Ecuador shows that the forecasters of the Global Aquaculture Alliance believe that Vietnam’s pangasius production will slow down to 2019 and 2020, reaching about 1.3 million tons / year.