Vietnam pangasius exports to China have not recovered in the “deflation” period
According to statistics of Vietnam Customs, in the first quarter of 2023, Vietnam’s pangasius exports to China and Hong Kong markets decreased by 22% to nearly 143 million USD. In which, pangasius exports to China reached 133 million USD, down 23% over the same period last year. Despite the decline, China still ranks first in the top markets for importing Vietnamese pangasius.
The average export price of pangasius to this “billion people” market also decreased by 10% over the same period last year, from $2.42/kg in 2022 to $2.19/kg. The two main product lines exported to China are frozen pangasius fillets and cuts (HS code 0304) accounting for 68% of the value with more than 91 million USD, down 32% over the same period last year and fresh pangasius/ frozen/dried whole, cut into pieces (except fish under code 0304) accounted for 32% with nearly 42 million USD, up 7% over the same period in 2022.
As expected, the Chinese market is gradually “brighter”, the demand for pangasius is increasing gradually as the economy reopens. After China opened up, although Vietnam’s pangasius exports to this market have not improved significantly, there has been a somewhat more positive trend.
In the first three months of this year, there were nearly 100 Vietnamese enterprises exporting pangasius to the Chinese market. In which, Nam Viet Joint Stock Company accounted for over 10% of sales, followed by Cat Tuong Co., Ltd., IDI Company, Dai Thanh Co., Ltd. and Truong Giang Seafood Joint Stock Company.
While much of the world is struggling against rising prices, China is said to be facing the opposite problem of “Deflation”. If I had to describe China’s current economic situation, it would be “deflation has begun” and “the economy may have entered a recession.” Consumers and businesses can stop spending with the expectation that prices will fall further, causing households to tighten their spending. However, with the advantages of white fish, nutritious, reasonable price, pangasius will still be the choice suitable for Chinese consumers in the period of 2023 with many economic difficulties.
China is no longer an easy market as before, not all products are accepted by this market. On the other hand, the exports of “this world’s second largest economy” are very similar to those of Vietnam. This is both an advantage and a challenge for Vietnamese goods. Therefore, businesses need to correctly and timely identify, and at the same time, assess the opportunities and challenges in the current Chinese market to be able to exploit and promote advantages in economic and trade cooperation relations. commercial.
Source: seafood.vasep.com.vn