Vietnam’s tra fish (pangasius) export revenue expands about 90 percent in the first six months of this year compared to the same period last year, signaling a new development period for the sector.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), in the first half of 2022, tra fish processing factories have operated at their top capacity to meet export orders. So far, tra fish export revenue is estimated at 1.4 billion USD.

The association reported that growth has been recorded in all the 117 export markets, especially China (124 percent) and the US (131 percent).

Particularly, good signs have been seen in the markets covered by the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) such as Mexico (71 percent), Canada (86 percent), Australia (19 percent) and Japan (64 percent). To date, CPTPP is the second largest export market of Vietnamese tra fish after China, Hong Kong (China), and the US.

The demand for fish from CPTPP markets has risen strongly in the first six months of this year to 170 million USD, up 64 percent year on year. The export revenue of frozen tra fish to the markets is forecast to increase 35 percent to more than 110 million USD in the second quarter of this year.

With the current strong development trend, along with the recovery of import markets, Vietnam’s tra fish export is expected to recover strongly this year with a revenue of 2.6 billion USD.

To this end, experts held that the sector needs great efforts in all stages of the production chain.

Truong Thi Le Khanh, Chairman of Vinh Hoan company, noted that tra fish prices is rising and will continue to rise in the rest of the year, the same as input and logistics costs. The Chinese market is likely to import more tra fish from Vietnam as its domestic reserve is reducing.

A recent report from BIDV Securities Company (BSC) commented that after two years of downturn due to COVID-19 impacts, tra fish sector is entering a growth cycle in 2022.

The BSC held that a strong rise in demand for the product is a major factor for the growth of the industry from the last quarter of 2021. With all the favourable factors, Vietnam is likely to enter a new development cycle in 2022 and following years, it predicted./.