In March alone, Vietnam exported pangasius worth more than US$2 million to the UAE, marking an increase of 62% compared to March.

The UAE mainly imported frozen fillet products coded HS 0304 from the Vietnamese market with a turnover reaching more than US$2 million in March, up 51% against the same period from last year and 81% compared to the previous month. This product accounted for 93% of the country’s total pangasius exports to the UAE.

The first quarter of the year witnessed the UAE import frozen Vietnamese pangasius fillets worth nearly US$7 million, up 56% on-year.

Furthermore, the country also imported fresh/frozen/dried pangasius and pangasius value-added products worth US$517,000 and US$152,000, respectively, representing a 15-fold rise and up 62% against the same period from last year.

Experts pointed out that there remains ample room for Vietnamese pangasius exports to the market due to the UAE's  large population, high income, and rapid urbanization rate.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), the UAE consumes more than 220,000 tonnes of seafood annually and has a per capita seafood consumption of 28.6 kilo per year, higher than the global average.

Moreover, the UAE Central Bank has raised its growth forecast for the UAE economy to 5.7% this year from the previous figure of 4.3%.

Source: VOV