February 3, 2012

Vietnam's Tra fish price down after Tet holiday

After a long Tet holiday, Tra fish processing firms have resumed their operations but the price of Tra fish material has dropped sharply to VND26,000-26,500 (US$1.24-1.27) per kilogramme.

Almost all Tra fish processing and exporting firms resumed production on the eighth day of the lunar January, or January 30, said Duong Ngoc Minh, Vice Chair of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (Vasep).

Minh, who is also General Director of Hung Vuong Corporation, cited the names of big processors that have resumed operations, including Godaco Seafood Joint Stock Company in Tien Giang Province, An Giang Fisheries Import and Export Co., Viet An Co. and Nam Viet Co.

Besides, more export contracts have also been clinched with a higher price compared to last year, at US$3-3.5 per kilogramme of fish fillets.

Despite the situation, the price of export-qualified Tra fish has tumbled to around VND26,000 (US$1.24) a kilogramme compared to VND27,200 (US$1.31) before Tet.

Nguyen Minh Sang, a trader in An Giang Province, said the price was VND26,000-26,500 (US$1.24 -1.27) per kilogramme for deferred payment and VND25,000-25,500 (US$1.19-1.22) if the settlement in cash was instant.

Meanwhile, low-quality Tra fish is priced at around VND23,000-25,500 (US$1.10-1.22), depending on the method of payment.