Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Eight pangasius exporters from Vietnam have been exempted from anti-dumping tax, following the latest review by the US Department of Commerce.

The tax was imposed on frozen pangasius imports, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said on September 18.

This the preliminary result of the period of review 20 (POR20) by the US department, taking place from August 1, 2022 to July 31, 2023.

Pangasius products by eight Vietnamese exporters showed no sign of dumping behaviours, which would give them an anti-dumping tax exemption, according to the department.

This is a good sign for Vietnamese pangasius exporters as, since 2003, several companies have been subject to anti-dumping tax from the US.

During the previous review period (POR19) from August 1, 2021 to July 31, 2022, only one Vietnamese exporter was freed from anti-dumping tax, which was the Vinh Hoan Joint Stock Company.

Five other companies were given a low anti-dumping tax rate at 0.18 USD per kilogram, while the remaining exporters were subject to a general tax rate of 2.39 USD per kilogramme.

The eight companies that would be exempt from anti-dumping tax this year are Bien Dong Seafood Company Ltd., Vinh Hoan Corporation, Can Tho Import-Export Seafood Joint Stock Company, Dai Thanh Seafoods Company Ltd., Dong A Seafood One Member Co., Ltd., HungCa 6 Corporation, Nam Viet Corporation and NTSF Seafoods Joint Stock Company.

The US Department of Commerce will release the final results of the review in 120 days’ time.

This year the department continues using Indonesia as an alternative country to calculate the dumping margin, since Vietnam is considered a non-market economy by the US, according to VESAP.

Indonesia was selected since it has a similar economy to Vietnam, similar goods are under review and reliable data is available for evaluation.

Pangasius export turnover in the first eight months of this year was estimated at 1.3 billion USD, up 9% over the same period last year, statistics from VESAP showed.

The US remains the largest single import market for Vietnamese pangasius with total export turnover in August alone, reaching 3 million USD, the highest since the beginning of the year and 15 times higher than August 2023.

By the end of August total pangasius exports to the US reached nearly 6 million USD, 14 times higher than the first eight months of 2023.

Other major pangasius import markets are under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) market bloc, Thailand, the UK, the EU, mainland China and Hong Kong.

The total value of pangasius exports to the CPTPP market bloc reached more than 8 million USD in the first eight months of the year, an increase of 31% over the same period last year.

Australia was the largest single market for pangasius exports in the bloc, accounting for 39% of the total exports, with export turnover reaching more than 3 million USD – an increase of 21% over the same period in 2023./.