Q3 2023 was tough for Vietnam’s pangasius, shrimp exporters

Many Vietnamese pangasius and shrimp exporters endured a challenging Q3 2023, as they struggled with falling sales by value and lower profits due to weak global demand.

Between July and September 2023, Vietnam shipped seafood globally worth USD 2.5 billion (EUR 2.3 billion) – a 12 percent year-over-year decrease. In the first nine months of 2023, the country’s total seafood export value slid 23 percent year over year, hitting USD 6.6 billion (EUR 6.1 billion). Vietnam’s pangasius sales in the nine-month period fell 31 percent year over year to USD 1.4 billion (EUR 1.3 billion), and its shrimp exports contracted by 26 percent from a year earlier to USD 2.5 billion (EUR 2.3 billion), according to data from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

This decline in the country’s seafood sales began in Q4 2022, stemming from subdued global demand and intensified competition from other exporting nations.

Vietnam’s top pangasius exporter, Vinh Hoan Seafood, saw its sales value dive 17 percent year over year to VND 2.7 trillion (USD 111.6 million, EUR 102.7 million) in Q3 2023, while its revenue for the first three quarters of 2023 amounted to VND 7.6 trillion (USD 315.8 million, EUR 291 million), a 29 percent drop compared to the same period last year.

Another major pangasius exporter, Nam Viet Corporation (Navico), reported VND 1 billion (USD 41,000, EUR 38,000) in Q3 2023 after-tax profit – a 99.2 percent drop compared to the same period last year due to the ... 

Photo courtesy of Cuu Long Fish Joint Stock Company