According to the latest information from a consulting firm based in Ho Chi Minh City, authorized by Undercurrent News to collect and analyze, prices of Vietnamese farmed fish rose sharply in early 2025 due to limited source of raw material. After a significant increase at the end of 2024, the price of pangasius mostly started this year at its highest level in a long time.

The last week of 2024 saw a sharp increase, and the first week of 2025, the increase was lower a bit but maintained at a high level. Fish weighing more than 1.2 kg recorded the highest price, reaching 32,440 VND (1.28 USD)/kg, the highest since 2022. These big fish are mostly popular in the Chinese market, while smaller sizes are preferred for fillet exports to the EU and the United States.

The consulting firm said that the main reason for the sharp rise in the price of large-sized fish was that the number of fish was very limited. In particular, as of the end of December 2024, fish weighing 800g to 1kg accounted for 37% of the total, while fish of larger size only accounted for about 5%.

In addition, demand from the Chinese market, especially during the Lunar New Year, also contributed to the price increase. In addition, the supply of fish is limited as fish grow slowly in cold weather in December.

The price of pangasius also continued to rise sharply, reaching VND 46,300/kg in the first week of 2025, the highest since February 2023. The consulting firm also warned of a shortage of fish in the coming months, due to a sharp drop in supply and a low survival rate during the breeding season.