Vietnamese pangasius with global aspirations

DNHN - The rapid increase After a lengthy period of slipping and breaking through all hurdles, Vietnam's pangasius sector resurrected and grasped the "golden chance" to enhance exports, bringing this industry chain back to life.

Vietnamese items are claimed to be "trendy" in the US, the selling price has peaked at more than 5 USD/kg, China has quadrupled its purchasing power, and all markets are seeing "unexpected" growth.

Pangasius exports are expected to reach $2.6 billion in 2022, the highest level in history, creating favourable conditions for billion-dollar fish species to "widen their swimming path" to other potential EU markets to realize the desire to "win big globally" to bring in foreign currency and increase the value of Vietnamese pangasius.

The promotion is spectacular

According to experts, seafood businesses confront challenges in terms of raw resources, labour, and higher shipping costs. However, consumption grew quickly with the reopening of the restaurant, hotel, and tourist segments, generating a surge in demand, particularly in major countries such as the United States and China. Based on the association between market prospects and production status, Vasep estimates that the total export value of 2022 will reach 10 billion USD, an increase of around 12% over 2021, with the pangasius industry playing a vital role in determining this success.

Catfish farming in the United States has fallen for three years in a row, but pangasius stocks are at an all-time low, therefore the Import-Export Department predicts pangasius exports will continue to rise substantially in this market. Since then, the total value of pangasius exports to the US in the first five months of 2022 has increased 131% to 310 million USD. The US FSIS - US Department of Agriculture has issued a notice to recognize six more of the 19 plants in Vietnam that are permitted to process and export pangasius products to the US by mid-May 2022. 

Due to sanctions with Russia causing a severe shortage of white fish, particularly cod, in the EU, US, and UK markets, many restaurants were compelled to remove cod from their menus. As a result, Vietnamese pangasius can occupy the "spotlight" with appropriate competitive quality, consolidating its position and growing market share. Pangasius shipments to the UK soared sixfold in the first half of 2022; Spain quadrupled; while France, the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium all climbed by 45-90%.

Furthermore, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has resulted in a ban on Russian food and seafood in key nations, presents more prospects for Vietnamese seafood. Competitive pangasius pricing, in particular, maybe a possibility in the context of record-breaking inflation, filling the gap in various Russian pollock categories in markets such as the EU, US, Korea, Japan, and so on...

IDI is increasing its market share in the EU

The Board of Directors of Multinational Investment Joint Stock Company (IDI) has drawn a picture of "major" commercial activity in 2022, with projected revenue of VND 8,300 billion and profit after tax of 900 billion dongs, an increase of 45% and 6.3 times, respectively, over 2021. The IDI corporation had an astounding profit after tax in the first quarter, reaching 201 billion dongs, a tenfold increase over the previous period.

Pangasius firms saw the most significant growth in the first half of 2022, with IDI leading the way with an increase of 86.3% to 70.6 million USD. With a high number of signed export orders, this unit will maintain its positive growth momentum, surpassing its target of winning big in its two key markets, the United States and China, and increasing its market share with EU nations. 

According to IDI officials, this unit took a business trip to Europe to analyze the market and inked several new contracts with EU partners. A remarkable breakthrough in the United States, but IDI continues to explore intriguing new territories such as Spain, France, Germany, and others, which are likely to become the EU's primary export market. The ideal supply of "defensive" goods is driving IDI to adopt its "offensive" strategy to capitalize on the golden chance when demand for pangasius skyrockets. The most significant is that Spain remains the leading European country in terms of frozen seafood production, consumption, import and export.

However, Vietnam's seafood import turnover from Spain varies at 1.5 million USD each month, which is still quite little in comparison to the country's demands. Since then, IDI has established a business strategy aimed at gaining the trust of Spanish importers, thereby contributing to Vietnam's ranking of 6th among many countries, even though the manufacturing capacity of the processing industry is very low and Vietnam's raw materials and ingredients are abundant. 

In general, this company's market structure is highly varied and has seen tremendous development. The closed process chain is a good step; here, the system of agricultural fields is linked as anticipated by the end of 2023, reaching around 450 hectares, satisfying the norms for proactively sourcing raw materials, and assuring fish quality while reducing costs.

IDI Company fulfils the tough laws of the game in challenging markets such as the UK, USA, and EU... creating the foundation by expanding the size and taking advantage of the chance to equip and promote the role of internal resources ready to receive large orders. In the next years, we will lay the groundwork for strategic collaboration with V.I.P clients.

I.D.I contribute to the creation of momentum for Vietnam's pangasius sector to keep its "champion" position on the growth chart of seafood exports through its vision and expertise in the farming, processing, and exporting industries. 

Lan Anh