Does Vietnamese catfish reduce prices of American catfish?
Before 1997, catfish was imported into the US mainly from Brazil at a record volume of 8.2 million pounds (lb) in 1986, which was equal to the imported volume for 2000. Since 1997, Vietnamese catfish accounts for a major share of the US market with its major product of frozen fillet. In 2001, the US has imported an estimated volume of 14-16 million pounds. Despite its increased volume, Vietnamese catfish imports in 2001 are still much lower than the market share for import of catfish from Brazil in 1986 by 6.7%. Since 1990, the price of raised catfish has dropped considerably, much earlier than the import of Vietnamese catfish began to rise in 2000 and 2001. In 1991, each pound costs an average 65 cents which was 13 cents lower than that in 1990. Meanwhile imports increased from four million pounds to 5.2 million pounds. In 2001, a pound cost 65 cents which was a drop of 10 cents from 2000. In the meantime, imports rose from 8.2 million lb to 16 million lb. The fluctuations on prices a
