In recent months, the price of skipjack tuna has continuously dropped, causing fishermen to not be able to cover their costs, even suffering heavy losses, and having to anchor their boats on shore.

Skipjack tuna prices drop sharply

For nearly a month now, the KH 93377 TS trawling (traffic net) vessel of fisherman Huynh Van Cam, in Vinh Phuoc ward, Nha Trang city (Khanh Hoa) has had to stay ashore because it is calculated that going offshore will not be profitable due to the sharp drop in skipjack tuna prices.

According to Mr. Cam, before September, skipjack tuna was purchased by warehouses at a stable price of about 30,000 VND/kg, but then it continuously decreased, now only 19-20,000 VND/kg. This causes many difficulties for fishermen, they cannot cover their costs, and are at risk of heavy losses.

For example, on a recent trip, Mr. Cam's vessel docked at Hon Ro fishing port, Nha Trang city with a yield of 15 tons (mainly skipjack tuna) after more than 20 days at sea in the Truong Sa fishing ground.

It was thought that the price of fish would be the same as usual at 30,000 VND/kg, his vessel would make a profit of tens of millions of VND to depreciate machinery, equipment and cover living expenses. However, because the price of skipjack tuna decreased by about 10 thousand VND/kg, the price of mackerel was only 12 thousand VND/kg, a decrease of 8 thousand VND/kg, plus the cost of the sea trip was about 300 million VND, so after deducting expenses, his boat lost nearly 100 million VND.

Skipjack tuna caught at 500mm (50cm) in very low nets. Photo: KS.

“I asked the brokers why the fish price was so low and they said they were importing goods for businesses but said they didn’t want to eat them anymore so they bought them at a low price,” Mr. Cam shared.

We were present at Hon Ro fishing port and witnessed many trawlers docking with a yield of 8-10 tons. However, due to the low price of skipjack tuna, only from 19-20 thousand VND/kg, the ship owners all complained that they did not make a profit, because the cost of a trip at sea was from 200-300 million VND (depending on the size of the ship).

The leader of Hon Ro fishing port management board also confirmed that the low price of fish, while the cost of the trip and labor increased, caused many difficulties for the ship owners. Due to unprofitable fishing, many fishermen left their trawlers on shore during the last trip.

What is the cause?

Mr. Vu Dinh Dap, Chairman of the Vietnam Tuna Association, said that the price of skipjack tuna has started to decrease in the past 2 months in localities. With skipjack tuna being purchased for less than 30 thousand VND/kg, fishermen are already at risk of losing money, let alone now it is only around 20 thousand VND/kg.

Currently, skipjack tuna is mainly purchased by businesses for canning for export. Photo: KS.

Regarding the main reason for the sharp decrease in the price of this fish, according to Mr. Dap, it is due to Decree No. 37/2024/ND-CP of the Government amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 26/2019/ND-CP dated March 8, 2019 of the Government, which stipulates that the size of skipjack tuna allowed for exploitation is 500mm (50cm).

However, in reality, for a long time in the fishing net, the output of skipjack tuna reaching this size is very low, accounting for only 3-5%.

Therefore, when Decree 37 comes into effect, it is stipulated that if export processing businesses buy skipjack tuna smaller than the exploitation size, fishing ports will not issue a certificate of raw materials. Therefore, businesses are not buying tuna as usual but following the regulations, so the output is stuck. While this type of fish is not consumed domestically, it is mainly processed into canned products for export.

"According to recent statistics, the annual output of skipjack tuna exploited in Vietnam's sea areas is from 60-80 thousand tons, of which 2/3, even 3/4 of the output is processed into canned products for export. By 2023, the export turnover of canned tuna will reach over 400 million USD. And this year, if this situation did not occur, the export turnover would be even higher," Mr. Dap expressed.

According to Mr. Dap, businesses are now facing even more difficulties as they bought skipjack tuna from August and September and have already processed it, but now they cannot complete the export documents. Therefore, Decree 37 not only makes it difficult for fishermen but also affects the production, processing of businesses and the export market. Therefore, if this problem is not resolved soon, Vietnam's skipjack tuna exports, especially canned tuna, will lose their market.

Source: VASEP