Connection between production and domestic consumption of Pangasius products (01-09-2020)
On 9 June 2020, in Hanoi, the Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development (MARD) held the event of Connection between production and domestic consumption of pangasius products". This was the event which began the Seafood Products Fair in Hanoi in 2020 to introduce and promote consumption of pangasius products for the domestic market.
For nearly two decades, pangasius has been the one of two main species of Viet Nam’s aquaculture. Pangasius has contributed to second-largest export value after brackish water shrimp. In 2019, pangasius products were present at 131 countries and territories around the world.
However, since the beginning of 2020, the Covid-19 epidemic has caused the delay for production, trading, and export activities of many industries, including pangasius production. According to statistics, in the first 5 months of 2020, the output of pangasius was estimated at 462 thousand tons, down 6.3% and the export value was only 456 million USD, down 39.1% over the same period in 2019. Exports to many major markets such as China, the EU, and the US decreased sharply by 48%, 47.3%, and 19.8%, respectively. It is forecast that from the third quarter of 2020, pangasius production will be able to recover completely. To overcome the current difficulties, solutions to focus on is to develop domestic consumption market and boost exports. In particular, it need to be paid attention to strengthen the image of pangasius and develop new sales channels, especially, support businesses to expand markets in association with making brand name of high-quality pangasius products.
The event of Connection between production and domestic consumption of pangasius products opened the week of Pangasius and seafood products in Hanoi in 2020, which has been aimed at accompanying businesses to overcome difficulties and challenges resulting from impact of the Covid-19 epidemic. To stabilize and expand pangasius production, expansion of export markets as well as development of domestic consumption markets are important factors. On the other hand, it is necessary to diversify products according to every market segment to meet diversified demand of consumers.
On this occasion, many experts believe that along with promoting and clearing output markets for pangasius, professional associations, businesses, and pangasius farmers need to strengthen the control of farming conditions. quality of inputs for aquaculture, to develop link chains, production toward market signals, new markets, to shift from focusing only on some major markets to expantion of export markets , and building trade brand name for some lines of pangasius products.
In the framework of the event, producers and distributors signed a co-operation contracts to consume pangasius products. The week of pangasius and seafood products in Hanoi in 2020 officially opened and took place from June 9 - 12, 2020.
Nhật Anh