As other successful aquaculture species, Vietnamese pangasius producers have experienced a number of trade obstacles in major importing countries such as the U.S and EU. The U.S. was the first country where Vietnamese pangasius faced challenges as it was forced to change the name from catfish in 2002 and an anti-dumping duty was imposed in 2003. The second trade challenge occurred in the mid-2000s when pangasius was claimed to be unsafe and unsustainable in the EU market after the market share of Vietnamese pangasius increased significantly. The challenge has continued as in 2017 there were social media and social campaigns in the EU claiming that Vietnamese pangasius farming was polluting the Mekong Delta and it is produced in the dirty environment. Consequently, many large seafood distributors in Belgium, France, and Spain has suspended Vietnamese pangasius products. In the U.S., the stricter quality standards have been imposed, and as a consequence, only two Vietnamese exporters can currently ship the pangasius fillets to the U.S. market.
One would expect that all these trade challenges provide major impediments to Vietnamese pangasius producers. However, Vietnamese pangasius is a highly successful aquaculture species in terms of production growth and exports. While pangasius production in 1999 was only 69 thousand tonnes, it reached 1.42 million tonnes in 2018, equivalent to a 20 times increase. The main explanation is that productivity growth and improved production practices have improved competitiveness to such an extent that the effect of the import measures have not been the main barrier. This is amplified by flexibility with respect to which markets and product forms are exported, although the U.S. and the EU remain among the main markets.
In this paper we will provide an overview of the development in pangasius production and exports from the late 1990s. We will both show the impact of productivity growth and trade measures and campaigns. It is of particular interest to note that the effect of the trade measures and campaigns tend to be short-lived, and that the impact of the financial crisis in 2008 is significantly more severe as this reduced total demand.