Vietnam's Tra fish (Pangasius) exports to the ASEAN market were valued at US$73.1 million by mid-July, a drop of 32.4% in comparison to the same period last year, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

Among the three major markets within ASEAN, Tra fish exports to Thailand witnessed the steepest drop with 33.2%, followed by Malaysia with a 31.3% decline, and Singapore with a slight fall of 3.3%.

The VASEP therefore attributed these reductions to the novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) during the second quarter which has taken a severe toll on economies globally, including those throughout the Southeast Asian region, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Singapore.

During the second quarter approximately 50 local enterprises exported Tra fish to the ASEAN market, of which 80% of all firms exported products to Singapore.

Most notably, some of the outstanding export products of Vietnamese businesses include frozen pangasius fillets, dried pangasius bubbles, frozen tempura pangasius fillets, and frozen pangasius cubes.