According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), Vietnam’s pangasius exports in Q1/2022 increased by nearly 90% compared to the same period of 2021. IDI Company, a big pangasius exporter in the country, earned an impressive after-tax profit of VND201 billion, up 10 times year on year.

Seafood export turnover grows highly

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has made great impacts on the world economy. The rise of petrol prices, shipping rates, and logistics costs has affected the global seafood trade. However, Vietnam’s seafood export still witnesses many positive signs, particularly the export of pangasius.

The price for Vietnamese pangasius has increased by 40-70%, paving the way for the rise of other seafood products. In the first quarter of 2022, VASEP reported that the country's pangasius export was estimated at US$646 million, up 88% over the same period in 2021, accounting for about 27% of the country's total seafood export value.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the pangasius industry plans to produce 1.6-1.7 million tons of commercial pangasius products in 2022 to earn export turnover ofover $1.6 billion. 

Based on that estimation, IDI Company set the target of earning a total revenue of VND8,300 billion, after-tax profit of VND900 billion this year, up by 45% and 6.3 times year on year, respectively. With a large number of signed export orders, this firm will continue its positive growth momentum to make a breakthrough in the two key markets - the US and China.

Pangasius processing enterprises for export in the Mekong Delta said that the price of raw pangasius has increased highly, from VND31,000 to VND33,000 per kilo (depending on the type). The cause of the increase in raw pangasius prices is the favorable situation for catfish export. Fish breeders have resumed their operation and expanded farming areas, which is a good sign to restore and develop this industry.

However, it is worried that if pangasius farming is expanded massively, it will lead to output excess, price drop. Thus, fish breeders will get loss. Based on the principle that once supply exceeds demand, the above problems are still likely to occur, however, if fish farming households have a strong association with pangasius processing enterprises, it will be the solution to answer those concerns. 

According to pangasius farming households that signed contracts to supply raw materials for IDI Company, for pangasius farming for export to gradually reach the world, farming households must associate with businesses to stabilize input and output. “Thanks to our relations with IDI Company, we have never suffered a loss,” a fish breeder said.

With all three factors: the availability of good pangasius breeders, high quality feed branded "Sao Mai Super Feed", and IDI Company’s commitment to buy raw material with high price, pangasius farming households are completely assured and confident to expand their farming areas. Not only fish breeders but also pangasius exporters earn high profit.

The companionship, sustainable cooperation, and a culture of faithful behavior even in the ups and downs between fish farming households and businesses have paid off. Considering fish farming households as partners, IDI Company’s profit is always proportional to the income of the farmers.

Seafood export turnover soars, meets “rules of the game” in key markets 

The recent economic crisis and epidemic have hindered the export of Vietnamese pangasius in the international market. Recently, the price of frozen pangasius fillets exported to the US market reached the peak of more than $4.5 per kilo, creating favorable conditions for the billion-dollar fish species to "strike hard" to realize aspiration to join the global value chain and increase the value of Vietnamese pangasius.

With a vision and experience in the pangasius farming, processing and exporting industry, IDI Company has set sustainable development goals. The closed process chain is a right step. Its system of linked farming areas will reach about 450 hectares by the end of 2023, meeting the standards to take initiative in raw materials, while ensuring the quality of fish and controlling production cost.

On the other hand, pangasius farming households are trained and facilitated to access modern technology and apply new scientific and technical advances to ensure the quality of material, reduce costs, and increase competitiveness. 

Having good breeds, fish farming area that meets Global GAP, ASC, and BAP standards, the next step IDI Company takes to get the "key" to solve the pangasius industry's difficulties is to build a pangasius processing and aqua feed plant on a large scale.

Its two seafood processing factories have operated at full capacity but they still cannot meet the needs of customers. IDI Company has decided to build the third seafood processing plant with a design capacity of 500 tons of raw materials/day and the fourth cold storage with a capacity of more than 10,000 tons of finished products.

Expanding the scale, taking advantage of the opportunity to equip and promote the role of internal resources in order to sign more large orders, IDI Company fully meets the difficult "rules of the game" in picky markets such as the European Union (EU) and develop familiar customer base for the following years. 

Lan Anh