Although Vietnam’s pangasius imported into Algeria are not significant yet, they are already favored by many consumers even though the price is as high as that of captured seafood.
According to the Vietnam Trade Office in Algeria, after a sharp decline in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Vietnam’s seafood exports, mainly pangasius, to Algeria, are recovering.
In the first 3 months of this year, seafood export turnover to Algeria (mainly frozen pangasius fillets) reached more than USD 780,000, up 56% over the same period in 2021.
On the Algerian market, Vietnamese pangasius fillets are sold for about USD 9.5/kg (equivalent to the cheapest fish caught in Algeria – sardine), and Vietnamese squid for USD 8/kg.
Algerian importers said that pangasius is favored by the people of this country in terms of quality and price.
However, in the past two years, due to the impact of Covid-19, the freight rate has increased, so the selling price of this item has increased by 2 to 3 times.
Despite having a coastline of nearly 1,000 km, Algeria’s fishery output is only 100,000 tons/year. Seafood in Algeria is very expensive, and not affordable for the majority of people.
According to Algerian Customs, each year this country imports 32,000 tons of seafood, with a turnover of USD 90-100 million. The main supplying countries include Tadjikistan, Spain, China, India, Vietnam, and Morocco. Total import tax and fee is 53% (of which 30% import tax, 19% VAT, 2% withholding tax and 2% solidarity tax).
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the value of Vietnamese seafood exports to Algeria was about 10 million USD/year. In 2021, our country’s export turnover to this market will only reach USD 1.5 million
Compiled by Minh Trang
(Source: https://seafood.vasep.com.vn/)