As a result of raw materials and export prices falling throughout 2015 due to overproduction, many Vietnamese aquaculture farms switched from pangasius to other species for the local market, which caused a severe shortage of the fish. Beginning in February 2016, pangasius material price increased rapidly, and so at this time, farm companies that have a proper long-term investment strategy can reap the greatest benefits. Unfortunately, these companies are few in quantity compared to the rest of the Vietnam’s fish industry.
According to business consultants, this is the first time in 10 years that the pangasius industry faces a severe shortage of material.

As the first farm cooperator in Vietnam to apply In-Pond Raceway Technology (IPA), Tafishco, a farm and processing company that consults with USSEC, plans to improve its pangasius fingerling production. Tafishco began construction of the first IPA floating raceway at its farm in An Giang Province in February 2016. With this new technology, Tafishco expected to use fewer fingerlings (1.5 million with IPA compared to 7.5 million with traditional technique) to produce the same numbers of fish at harvest (300,000 pieces) from the same same pond size.
IPA is expected to help Tafishco eliminate fingerling shortage as well as produce enough raw materials for their processing factory from their own 30 hectares for pangasius production and other 70 hectares of contracted farms.