Vietnam’s first cat fish festival is scheduled to take place in the southern province of Dong Thap on December 16-17.

China is expected to stay the largest export market for Vietnamese pangasius this whole year, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

Vietnam exported pangasius products worth US$73.5 million to Mexico during the seven-month period, up 73% over the same period last year, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

Demand for Vietnam’s tra fish (pangasius) is up in major markets, driving the export of the catfish overseas, reports the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

The Directorate of Fisheries forecasts a shortage of raw materials for export basa processing in the first quarter of 2022 due to the impact of COVID-19.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh has recently signed Decision No.1664/QD-TTg approving a project on marine aquaculture development till 2030 with a vision to 2045.

As of mid-September, basa harvesting is estimated at 932,000 tonnes, only 81.1 per cent of the same period last year.

Nearly 25 Vietnamese companies exporting basa fish have withdrawn from the EU market since the beginning of the year.

Basa fish exporters recorded positive growth in the first months of the year, but are now facing escalating prices and costs.

The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has announced the final results of the 16th period of review (POR16) for the period from August 1, 2018 to July 31, 2019, regarding Vietnam’s tra and basa fish (pangasius) exported to the US.

Tra (pangasius) fish prices have dropped to their lowest levels in 11 years since exports have been hit by Covid-19, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

Catfish products can bring export turnover of $2 billion a year, but, surprisingly, the fish has not been favored in the home market.

Analysts believe that Vietnam’s seafood industry will face difficulties until the end of June.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) predicts that the total catfish output in the world will reach 3 million tons in 2020, of which 50 percent is from Vietnam.

Catfish exports to China dropped by half in the first two months of the year in comparison with the same period last year, resulting in a 32 percent decrease in total export turnover for the entire seafood industry.

Seafood companies have vowed to bring catfish to Vietnamese dining tables after their success in the world market.

This year is believed to be a brighter year for the domestic tra fish industry with exports inching up in the first quarter, according to an official from the Vietnam Pangasius Association.

Meeting barriers in foreign markets, catfish processing companies have decided to exploit the domestic market.

As tra fish export has been on the decline in recent years due to a rise in trade protectionism in large traditional markets such as the US, Vietnamese firms are looking to bring the fish back home.