Catfish export is an opportunity to break through

Following the record export turnover in 2018, processing and exporting catfish in 2019 is forecasted with many advantages and satisfactory results of 2.3 billion USD.

Start from the United States, EU

Vietnam is currently the largest catfish exporting country in the world. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in 2018, catfish export turnover reached a record of USD 2.26 billion, up 26.4% compared to 2017.

Mrs. To Thi Truong Lan - Deputy Secretary General of Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said: the achieved catfish export turnover in 2018 is the highest level in recent years. In terms of reason, catfish was not in season, so the price was very high. Notably, 2018 is the year of successful and effective coordination among ministries: Agriculture and Rural Development, Industry and Trade and VASEP in implementing the US Catfish Inspection Program, promoting trade to key markets: such as Japan, China and the Middle East region ... Thus, the United States has returned to its position as the No. 1 export market of Vietnamese catfish, contributing greatly to the success of the industry.

In 2019, VASEP forecasted that catfish export turnover will remain at 2.2-2.3 billion USD. Some experts say this number is quite feasible because of the positive impact of the US-China trade war on catfish industry as demand increases in China and trade barriers in the United States. In addition, when the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) was signed and enforced, the import tax on catfish to the European Union (EU) will be reduced from 5.5% to 0% in 3 years with raw catfish, and from 7% to 0% in 7 years with processed catfish. This creates a great opportunity for catfish export enterprises to boost production and export value of this product.

Meanwhile, barriers in the US market have also decreased. Vietnam has passed US Department of Agriculture (USDA) field tests, the most important step in the initial assessment process established by the US Food Safety and Inspection Agency (directly under USDA). In addition, the preliminary anti-dumping tax on catfish during the 14th administrative review period (POR 14) is significantly lower than that of POR 13. Therefore, the volume of exporting catfish to the US market might increase sharply in 2019.Regarding the above issue, the 2019 strategic analysis report of Viet Rong Securities Joint Stock Company (VDSC) stated: The Mekong Delta region has favorable ecological conditions for large-scale catfish farming. Besides, advanced farming technology for white meat catfish products is a favorite choice of consumers. Other countries like India, Bangladesh, Thailand and Indonesia are also producing low value yellow catfish and the volume is only enough to meet domestic demand.

Promote deep processing

Although it is considered that processing and exporting catfish has many advantages in 2019, according to Mr. Nguyen Hoai Nam - Deputy General Secretary of VASEP, the challenge for the catfish industry is still outstanding, primarily the program of import control in Europe and the United States...

According to Mr. Tran Dinh Luan, Deputy Director General of the Directorate of Fisheries (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), Vietnam's catfish processing factories all meet the standards and norms that "difficult" importing countries like the US, Japan and the EU have assessed and acknowledged. However, the goal is for deep processing; make use of the remaining products by processing to produce value-added products. "The Directorate of Fisheries is working with enterprises to build a high quality catfish fillet brand; study and add more nutrients and improve processing technology for better quality catfish fillet products," said Luan.

Around the story of processing and exporting catfish placed in the context of deep international economic integration in 2019, Ms. Lan raised the view: With seafood in general, catfish fish in particular, VASEP proposed the Government and Ministry of Trade and Industry to continue with their particular care and attention by having high-level diplomatic activities for removing anti-dumping barriers; support enterprises to update and improve their understanding of the export market, especially the market in the block of Comprehensive and Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreements (CPTPP), and the new legal regulations when the EVFTA Agreement comes through. "At present, Vietnam's seafood has generally been present in over 160 countries. While competition is fierce and rival countries have strong investments, the budget that Vietnam invests in this industry is quite modest, so VASEP has proposed to have a flexible mechanism to increase the money for trade promotion, to help Vietnamese seafood get closer to the final importers and consumers," Lan said.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development: In 2018, not only impressive export growth, but catfish also recorded a remarkable growth in farming area when reaching 5,400 ha (an increase of 3.3% compared to the year of 2017); output of 1.42 million tons, an increase of 8.4% compared to 2017. In 2018, the fisheries sector organized to replace 30 thousand bloodstock breeders, enhancing breeding selection. Therefore, the quality of catfish seed has been gradually improved, the production of hatcheries and commercial catfish has been basically controlled by preventing the spontaneous fish farming area expanding massively from 2017.