Pangasius prices rise amid seed shortage

Prices that Vietnamese farmers are receiving for export-ready pangasius have risen amid a shortfall in pangasius seed that seems set to continue, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said.

According to VASEP, export-ready prices rose from VND 21,500 per kilogram ($0.96 per kg), to more than VND 22,500 last week.

That price rise is being provoked by an even sharper increase in pangasius seed. Seed prices rose from VND 20,000/kg to VND 34,000/kg last week, according to VASEP. And in mid March alone, there's been a VND 3,000/kg price rise the agency said, due to a shortage of seed supply in the Mekong Delta.

"It is expected that in the period from April to August, 2016, which is the highest time for pangasius exports, will be the peak of the shortage in raw pangasius. Therefore, pangasius price will continue to rise  in both domestic and importing market," VASEP said in a statement.

Pangasius prices in the US have been rising recently as the 'replacement costs' Vietnamese packers face thanks to the new US Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspections. This new regulation took effect March 1.

Vietnamese facilities are coming into compliance with the new rules. The USDA has added 22 more Vietnamese pangasius factories to a list of those eligible for export to the US.

So far, there are 45 eligible pangasius exporters of Vietnam to the US.

On Feb 2, the USDA issued a letter to Vietnam’s National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (NAFIQAD) guiding the implementation of the mandatory catfish and Siluriforme (catfish) product inspection, including pangasius of Vietnam exported to the US.

NAFIQAD had to send legal documents showing pangasius product control in Vietnam and the list of companies exporting to the US, so that exports won't be interrupted in an 18-month transition period from March 1, 2016 to Aug. 8, 2017.

Khoa Le

Source: Undercurrentnews