The report presented at the forum on upgrading the catfish export value held recently in Dong Thap province by Vinapa (the Vietnam Pangasius Association) showed that the farming, processing and export of catfish is in difficult period as the material price has fallen dramatically.

The catfish farming area in 2019 and the output decreased significantly by 6 percent compared with 2018 to 1.23 million tons. However, despite the output fall, the material price still stayed at low level.

In 2018, the catfish material price reached its peak of VND36,000 per kilogram, but it dropped to VND31,000 per kilogram in early 2019 and then to VND20,000 per kilogram in the last months of the year.

As the catfish price decreased, farmers dare not continue farming, thus leading to the breeder decrease. The breeder price was high in the first months of the year, but later fell to VND30,000 per kilogram and now hovers around VND26,000.

Tran Cong Minh, who has been faming catfish for 15 years in Thot Not district in Can Tho district, admitted that the catfish price is tumbling, while the New Year is coming, which has put farmers on tenterhooks.

As the catfish price decreased, farmers dare not continue farming, thus leading to the breeder decrease. The breeder price was high in the first months of the year, but later fell to VND30,000 per kilogram and now hovers around VND26,000.

According to Nguyen Thanh Hung, deputy chair of Dong Thap province, there are over 2,000 hectares of catfish farming area in the locality which put out 100,000 tons of catfish a year. Dong Thap is also a big breeder producer which provides 1.7 billion breeders to the market.

However, the catfish industry cannot develop in a sustainable way and the production process bears influences from many factors.

Meanwhile, Vietnam is no longer the only catfish supplier in the world. Some other Southeast Asian countries have gained success in catfish farming.

According to the General Fisheries Department, Vietnam’s catfish export turnover in 2019 is estimated at $2 billion, down by 10 percent compared with 2018. There have been some changes in the market structure with a decrease in exports to the EU and US and increase in exports to China, Japan and ASEAN.

The US market, which topped the list of Vietnam’s export markets, has fallen to the second position which consumes 14.2 percent of Vietnam’s export volume.

China has become the biggest consumer of Vietnam’s catfish, but is unstable with high risks. The Chinese market has become choosier with higher requirements on quality and traceability. Catfish exports to China now have to satisfy standards applied to choosy markets such as the US and EU.

Kim Chi 

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