Pangasius exports to the United States from 1 January 2014 to 15 July 2014 were $163.12 million, down 24.2 per cent year on year, reports VASEP.
Viet Nam pangasius exports to the market continuously declined from March until mid-July. Pangasius exports in May dropped 59.2 per cent, which is the highest reduction. March saw the slightest decline by 12.7 per cent.
The United States accounted for 18.3 per cent of total Vietnamese pangasius exports compared with the same period in 2013 at 23.9 per cent. Being the top market for Vietnamese pangasius last year, it was surpassed by the EU this year.
Pangasius imports by the United States decreased in both value and volume in the first half of 2014.
According to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), in the first half, America imported 53,259 MT of pangasius and catfish from 30 countries and territories around the world, down 7.3 per cent compared to the same period in 2013, in which pangasius imported from Viet Nam was 47,360 MT, down nine per cent year on year.
There was a slight increase in average export price of Pangasius to the US. Average price of Vietnamese pangasius exported to the United States in the first six months of 2014 reached $3.035/ kg, increasing 0.7 per cent year-on-year.
The companies blamed POR9 applied from 1 August 2011 to 31 July 2012 for the decline in pangasius exports to the United States.
The ninth antidumping duty administrative reviews (POR9) set anti-dumping tax imposed to Viet Nnam pangasius companies. Vinh Hoan Corporation – one of the two mandatory respondents – reduced antidumping tax from $0.03 per kilogram to zero. The anti-dumping tax on pangasius products of other defendants increased over tax rates announced on 31/03/2014, from $0.42/kg to $1.20/kg. The anti-dumping tax on pangasius products of Hung Vuong Corporation, the mandatory respondent, was kept at $1.20 per kilogram. Viet Nam-wide rate is $2.11 per kilogram.
The Department of Commerce (DOC) announced its decision to set a preliminary adjustment on the duty imposed on certain frozen pangasius fillets imported from Viet Nam in its the tenth antidumping duty administrative reviews (POR10) from August 1, 2012 to July 31, 2013. Accordingly, despite lower duty rate, it still caused obstacles to Vietnamese pangasius exporters. DOC decided to increase Viet Nam-wide tax rate from $2.11/ kg to $2.39 / kg.
The new duties in POR10 won’t be in effect until the final determination is issued. Therefore, the decrease in pangasius exports to the United States is mainly caused by POR9.
Pangasius exports to Russia have been on decreasing trend since 2013, consequently, this market was no longer in the top eight Vietnamese pangasius importers. At the end of January 2014, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance Service (VPSS) suspended Viet Nam pangasius imports to the Russian Federation and the Customs Union (including Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan).
As a result, in the first seven months of 2014, Vietnamese pangasius export to Russia was estimated at $3.49 million, comparing to $8.97 million for the same period in 2013. The suspension was recently lifted and results for this market are expected to be better, in both volume and value.
