In the first quarter of 2015, the euro exchange rate and import-reducing policy in the EU affected seafood suppliers to the EU.
Among the five largest pangasius importers of Vietnam, pangasius exports to the UK kept growing in 2015, while exports to the other markets slowed down.
In 2016, Vietnam pangasius exports to the EU expected to increase. According to FAO Globefish, in 2015, the EU’s imports of frozen pangasius fillets registered the fall both in value and volume.
In Mar-Apr 2015, the pangasius import price reached the highest level of US$2.45-US$2.48/kg. In 2015, the total pangasius imports of the EU estimated at 110,000 MT, equal to 2013 and import prices also decreased by US$0.5-1/kg compared to the year prior.
In 2015, whitefish products imported into the EU went up. Of that, the share of frozen cod fillets made up 25.08 per cent of the total import value of whitefish; and frozen Alaska pollock fillets accounted for about 17 per cent.
The import value of frozen pangasius and catfish fillets into the EU accounts for about 6.25 per cent of the total import value of whitefish. Main import markets in the EU bloc were Spain, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, and France.
