Because of Covid-19, catfish exports in the first quarter of teh year brought modest turnover of $334 million, a decrease of 29.3 percent compared with the same period.

Catfish exports to China dropped sharply in the first two months of the year, resulting in a 32 percent decrease in total export turnover for the entire seafood industry.

In the domestic market, farmers have had to sell catfish at a loss. A local newspaper reported that catfish was sold at VND20,000-21,000 per kilogram in Can Tho City in late March.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong, during his working visit to An Giang province recently, suggested that instead of focusing on exports, businesses and farmers should try to sell products in the domestic market.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong, during his working visit to An Giang province recently, suggested that instead of focusing on exports, businesses and farmers should try to sell products in the domestic market.

Cuong believes that the domestic market, with nearly 100 million people, may buy 10-20 percent of total output.

In late 2018, Go Dang JSC in Ben Tre province put processed catfish products on sale at Bach Hoa Xanh, Co-op and Big C supermarket chains.

Go Dang’s general director Nguyen Van Dao said domestic consumption accounts for 5 percent of the company’s total output. Fish balls and breaded fish slices are the
favorite products. The initial achievements prompted the company to develop new products.

Duong Nghia Quoc, chair of the Vietnam Pangasius Association (VPA), also thinks that developing the domestic market is a wise strategy.

Quoc cited a report as saying that Vietnam farms 1.2 million tons of catfish, or 500,000 tons of fish filet. About 92 percent of catfish is exported as filet and the remaining 8 percent is processed and sold domestically. The figures show that the domestic sales remain very small.

“The domestic market is still large enough for businesses to exploit,” he said.

Domestic market

Quoc admitted that it would not be easy to develop the domestic market. The domestic sales have increased but slowly.

As catfish processors focus on export, they don’t have domestic distribution channels. This leads to higher retail prices high and uncompetitiveness. They became used to processing products in accordance with the importers’ tastes, and will have to spend time to discover the tastes of domestic consumers.

However, Quoc believes that increasing domestic sales is a feasible plan. Vietnam’s catfish is present in 140 markets. 

Kim Chi

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