Many companies do not dump pangasius, according to DOC's preliminary findings

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), the US Department of Commerce (DOC) has conducted an administrative investigation to review the anti-dumping duty order on frozen pangasius fillets from Vietnam for the review period from August 1, 2022, to July 31, 2023 (POR20).

DOC's preliminary findings showed that, in POR20, many pangasius fillet exporters from Vietnam, including Bien Dong and Vinh Hoan, did not dump their products into the US market. Therefore, these companies will not be subject to any anti-dumping duties.

There are 8 Vietnamese pangasius exporting companies eligible for separate tax rates, including Vinh Hoan Corp, Bien Dong Seafood Company Limited; Can Tho Import Export Seafood Joint Stock Company (CASEAMEX), Dai Thanh Seafood, Dong A Seafood One Member Company Limited (DONG A SEAFOOD); Hung Ca 6 Company; Nam Viet Corporation (NAVICO) and NTSF Seafood Joint Stock Company (NTSF SEAFOODS).

Because the US considers Vietnam a non-market economy, DOC uses surrogate values ​​of third countries to calculate the dumping margin for Vietnam. In this review, DOC selected Indonesia as a surrogate country to calculate the dumping margin for pangasius. DOC gave three reasons for choosing Indonesia: Indonesia has a similar economy to Vietnam; Indonesia significantly produces goods similar to those under investigation during the review period; Indonesia provides usable and reliable data to help DOC assess Vietnam's production factors.

The official results will be announced by DOC 120 days after the preliminary findings are announced. However, this is still good news for Vietnamese pangasius exporters because the US is one of the most important export markets.

The US is one of the most promising markets for Vietnamese pangasius this year. Information from the General Department of Customs shows that pangasius exports to the US in the first 7 months of this year reached more than USD 190 million, an increase of 20% over the same period in 2023. The US is the second largest market for Vietnamese pangasius after the China-Hong Kong market.

Vietnam is also one of the most important whitefish suppliers to the US market. According to data from the International Trade Center (ITC), in the first 6 months of 2024, the value of Vietnamese whitefish (mainly pangasius) imported into the US was more than USD 184 million, an increase of 10% over the same period in 2023. Vietnam is second after China in supplying whitefish to the US market. This is also Vietnam's position in 2023, with a turnover of nearly USD 330 million, accounting for 19% of the total import turnover of whitefish to the US market.

A notable thing in Vietnam's pangasius exports to the US since the beginning of 2024 is that value-added pangasius products have continuously grown strongly. Specifically, in July 2024, value-added pangasius product exports to the US exceeded the USD 1 million mark for the first time this year when reaching USD 1.3 million, an increase of 42 thousand times compared to the same period in 2023, accounting for 33% of value-added pangasius product exports to all markets in July 2024. Previously, in June 2024, value-added pangasius product exports to the US reached more than USD 800 thousand, an increase of 7 times compared to the same period.

Due to the continuous and strong increase in exports, by the end of July 2024, value-added pangasius exports to the US reached more than USD 3 million, 14 times higher than the same period last year, accounting for 14% of the total value of value-added pangasius exported to markets.

According to VASEP, pangasius exports to the US have tended to recover since the beginning of this year, mainly due to the significant decrease in inventories in this market in 2023. In addition, preparations for festivals and year-end holidays have also increased consumers' demand for pangasius. On that basis, VASEP forecasts that in the last months of this year, pangasius exports to the US will continue to increase orders.

In August 2024, the pangasius export situation showed signs of positive change, but not much. Raw fish prices are still low. Currently, the price of raw pangasius fish at the pond is about VND 27,000 per kg, equivalent to the same period last year, but lower than in the first half of March by VND 1,500 - 2,000 per kg.