CAN THO – Although tra fish processing firm have resumed their operations after a long Tet holiday and dozens of export contracts were signed early this year, the price of tra fish material has dropped sharply to VND26,000-26,500 per kilogram.
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 kilogram of fish fillets.
Despite the situation, the price of export-qualified tra fish has tumbled to around VND26,000 a kilo compared to VND27,200 before Tet.
Nguyen Minh Sang, a trader in An Giang Province, said the price was VND26,000-26,500 per kilogram for deferred payment and VND25,000-25,500 if the settlement in cash was instant.
Meanwhile, low-quality tra fish is priced at around VND23,000-25,500, depending on the method of payment.
“Although processors have been back to work, their materials are mainly the frozen fish stored since before Tet. Therefore, the purchasing demand at this time is quite low, and the fish material price drops much,” said Sang.
