Some countries are increasing their demand for Vietnamese catfish

April 18 - Vietnam's seafood exports in February were $610 million, of which catfish exports were $156 million, accounting for 26%.

Despite a 9 percent drop in catfish exports, February's sales performance is a positive sign as inflation reduces demand and makes exports cheaper.

In March of this year, some countries started buying more catfish, such as China. Vietnamese catfish exports to China increased by 26%, and by the end of February, Vietnamese catfish exports to China were $73 million.

Five regions in China are the main supply target markets for Vietnamese catfish: Guangdong, accounting for 30%, Shandong and Shanghai each accounting for 12%, and Tianjin and Zhanjiang each accounting for 10%.

In 2022, Vietnam exported 253,000 tons of catfish to China, up 71 percent from 2021. The average export price was $2.40 per kg, up 25 percent from the previous year, with Guangdong, Hubei and Anhui having the highest export price at $2.6-2.7 per kg.

Besides China, exports of Vietnamese catfish to other regions also showed double-digit growth in February, such as 79 percent growth to the United Kingdom, 38 percent growth to Colombia, 84 percent growth to Germany, 90 percent growth to Belgium and 90 percent growth to Portugal. Some countries even saw triple-digit growth, such as Saudi Arabia, which grew 110 per cent, and Iraq, which grew 332 per cent.

The growth in Vietnamese catfish exports has been accompanied by a decline in exports to the United States, down 59 percent, to Brazil, down 23 percent, to Thailand, down 29 percent and to Mexico, down 11 percent.

Vietnamese catfish exporters are expecting positive signals from China, the United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal and the Middle East. In the coming months, demand in these countries and regions will increase compared to the beginning of the year, mainly due to trade and promotional activities such as trade fairs, but exports may not make a strong breakthrough and exporters generally believe that export prices will not be as high as in 2022.