A forum was held in Ho Chi Minh City on August 6 to seek to earn asustainable niche for Vietnam’s pangasius (tra) fish in the EuropeanUnion now that the shipments of such product to the market haveplunged.
According to Secretary-General of theVietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) TruongDinh Hoe, the fish has brought home more than 1.8 billion USD on ayearly basis from 150 countries and territories worldwide, 21 percent ofwhich came from the EU.
Since 2010, tra fishconsumption in the EU has, however, faced a downward trend. Keyimporters such as Spain, the Netherlands, and Germany reducedtheir imports by 14,300 tonnes averagely over the past three years. Inthis year’s January-June, tra fish exports encountered a year-on-yeardecline of 9 percent.
Deputy head of theImport-Export Department under the Ministry of Trade and Industry DuongPhuong Thao said Vietnamese businesses have missed many orders from themarket due to their small-scale operation, poor productivity, andfinancial shortages. Additionally, businesses still remain passive anddepend largely on their EU partners, she added.
Despite the fact, the VASEP Secretary-General was optimistic about thepossibility of bringing more locally-produced tra fish products to theEU which imports up to 65 percent of seafood since this type of fish isfavoured by the market. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisationestimated that an average aquatic consumption in European countries willincrease to 24 from 22 kg per year.
Experts havealso agreed that local breeders, processors and exporters are makingall-out efforts to meet the stricter requirements, including food safetyand environmental responsibility, from the EU and other markets aroundthe world.
The Government has recently issued Decree36/2014/ND-CP, requiring breeders, processors, and exporters of trafish to meet Vietnam Good Agricultural Practice (VietGap) standards orother international ones such as GlobalGAP and Aquaculture StewardshipCouncil (ASC) in a move to retain their exports in such markets as theEU and the US .
The Mekong Delta, in particular,is carrying out an EU-funded project on building a sustainable tra fishsupply chain in Vietnam, which aims to increase the competitivenessof the product in the global market.
According tothe Directorate of Fisheries, as of July this year, the region farmednearly 4,000 ha of tra fish, a yearly increase of 9.9 percent,harvesting about 594,000 tonnes, up 0.3 percent.-VNA
According to Secretary-General of theVietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) TruongDinh Hoe, the fish has brought home more than 1.8 billion USD on ayearly basis from 150 countries and territories worldwide, 21 percent ofwhich came from the EU.
Since 2010, tra fishconsumption in the EU has, however, faced a downward trend. Keyimporters such as Spain, the Netherlands, and Germany reducedtheir imports by 14,300 tonnes averagely over the past three years. Inthis year’s January-June, tra fish exports encountered a year-on-yeardecline of 9 percent.
Deputy head of theImport-Export Department under the Ministry of Trade and Industry DuongPhuong Thao said Vietnamese businesses have missed many orders from themarket due to their small-scale operation, poor productivity, andfinancial shortages. Additionally, businesses still remain passive anddepend largely on their EU partners, she added.
Despite the fact, the VASEP Secretary-General was optimistic about thepossibility of bringing more locally-produced tra fish products to theEU which imports up to 65 percent of seafood since this type of fish isfavoured by the market. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisationestimated that an average aquatic consumption in European countries willincrease to 24 from 22 kg per year.
Experts havealso agreed that local breeders, processors and exporters are makingall-out efforts to meet the stricter requirements, including food safetyand environmental responsibility, from the EU and other markets aroundthe world.
The Government has recently issued Decree36/2014/ND-CP, requiring breeders, processors, and exporters of trafish to meet Vietnam Good Agricultural Practice (VietGap) standards orother international ones such as GlobalGAP and Aquaculture StewardshipCouncil (ASC) in a move to retain their exports in such markets as theEU and the US .
The Mekong Delta, in particular,is carrying out an EU-funded project on building a sustainable tra fishsupply chain in Vietnam, which aims to increase the competitivenessof the product in the global market.
According tothe Directorate of Fisheries, as of July this year, the region farmednearly 4,000 ha of tra fish, a yearly increase of 9.9 percent,harvesting about 594,000 tonnes, up 0.3 percent.-VNA
