“Dead” pangasius means that many chains and factories of processing pangasius has to be closed or on sales.

Selling but there is no consumer
For several months, Mr Luan, owner of Binh Minh factories of processing pangasius in Lai Vung district, Dong Thap province intended to sell a factory of processing pangasius of which capacity is 50 tonnes/day. The factory includes conveyor belt, frozen fridge, frozen store and factory with 4ha area and has the price at just 55 billion VND. However, there has not been any customer.

Recently in Hong Ngu, Dong Thap, Mr Tu Dum, the owner of Thanh Hai enterprises has spent 60 billion VND to buy a factory of processing pangasius of another enterprise in the district.

The factory of processing pangasius in Thot Not district, Can Tho solves the problem by joining stock. Mr Sau, owner of pangasius factory says that he needs change the strategy so that he needs more people to join capital to maintain the operation of the factory.
Many feed factories also have difficulties. In Sa Dec industrial zone, Dong Thap province, the general estimation shows that there are 20 factories of processing pangasius, almost all of them have operated since 2003 but now, some of them have stopped or been on sale.

Mr Khanh, director of Minh Quan company needs sell the factory of processing feed for pangasius in Sa Dec industrial zones. Apart from Minh Quan, business of trading pangasius has revealed that Sao Xanh, Kien Thanh factories are also on sale and Viet Thang has sold the stock for Hung Vuong.

Selling is essential
Director of a factory of freezing pangasius in Dong Thai remembers the hey day of pangasius from 2003. At that time, material pangasius cost 17,000-18,000 VND/kg. Subtracting the expense, the profit is about 3000- 4000 VND and some people got hundreds billion VND after just 1 crop. And more and more people invests in the business.

Most of these factories have small capacity and belongs to farmers also. After having some bumper crops, they mortgaged properties to borrow capital to build factories.
Due to lack of experiences in business and in approaching customers, these farmer owners did not sell fish directly to foreign partners but they had to base on big frozen factories to share export contract. This depending issue lead to low profit.

According to Vasep, in this period, there were more than 200 enterprises of exporting panagsius when just 25% of these had factories. The rest rents units that had factories to pack to export. Since the beginning of 2008, when the export market had difficulties, these commercial enterprises gave up and this was also the time when small processing factories faced great difficulties.

The way to bankruptcy of factories of processing feed is similar. When farmers have profits, the price is not a matter. Mr Uc Anh, farmer in Tan Loc, Thot Not, Can Tho remembers: “in those years, farmers just used industrial bran but not current mixed bran”.

Hoang Bay

Source: SGTT

Translated by Vietfish Community