The United States remains one of the largest importers and consumers of Vietnamese pangasius, primarily in the form of frozen fillets. However, in recent years, the country has significantly increased its imports of value-added pangasius products.
According to data from Vietnam Customs, the export value of value-added pangasius to the US exceeded $2 million in November 2024, marking a staggering 4,270% year-on-year increase (equivalent to 42 times higher) compared to November 2023. During the first 11 months of 2024, exports of these products to the US reached over $12 million, a 2,182% surge (equivalent to 21 times higher) compared to the same period last year.
This achievement represents the highest export value for value-added pangasius in the past decade since 2015. Previously, 2022 had recorded the highest value of pangasius exports to the US, driven by a surge in demand as the US reopened post-COVID-19, leading to significant import volumes during the first half of the year. However, the rapid surge in imports resulted in supply exceeding demand, leaving excess inventory throughout 2023. The subsequent economic downturn, declining consumer demand, and tightened spending further slowed the clearance of inventory, leading to a substantial drop in pangasius export value to the US in 2023. That year is considered the most challenging for Vietnam’s pangasius export sector in a decade.
In the first 11 months of 2024, the US primarily imported value-added pangasius products from Vietnam under HS Code 16041990. These include frozen breaded pangasius fingers (25g size), breaded pangasius fillets, frozen breaded pangasius nuggets, and similar products. Exports under this code accounted for 99.9% of the total value-added pangasius export value to the US during this period, generating $12.4 million.