Export spike stimulates firms to invest in tra fish

Workers process tra fish at a factory in the Mekong Delta region – PHOTO: TRUNG CHANH

CAN THO – Vietnam has seen the tra fish export growing strongly in the past two years, which has encouraged enterprises to boost their investment in the sector.

Vo Hung Dung, general secretary of the Vietnam Pangasius Association (VINAPA), said that the tra fish yield is likely to continue its uptrend this year, expected to rise by 20% against the output of 1.4 million tons last year. Dung explained that many new projects related to the tra fish sector are being invested by firms as exports have grown staggeringly, by over 25% last year in particular. 

In particular, Nam Viet Company on January 8 began work on the Nam Viet Binh Phu hi-tech seafood farming project covering 600 hectares in Binh Phu Commune, Chau Phu District, in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang. The project with total capital of VND4 trillion is considered Vietnam’s largest tra fish raising project to apply advanced technology.

“Also, Long An Province has seen 1,500 hectares of land being used for farming tra fish,” Dung said.

Earlier on December 14, 2018, Viet Uc Corporation inaugurated a high quality tra fish breed producing complex in An Giang Province.

Further, Hung Ca Co Ltd on January 21 put into service Hung Ca 6 seafood processing factory in Binh Thanh Industrial Zone in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap. The VND465-billion facility, covering 21,000 square meters, is expected to expand the company’s operation, enhance its competitiveness and meet rising demand for tra fish in the domestic and international markets.

The robust investment in the tra fish sector is attributed to the strong growth of manufacturing and exporting tra fish in recent two years, mainly in 2018.

Dung said that improved tra fish exporting and farming activities have smoothed the path for enterprises to invest in the sector.

In 2018, the revenue from tra fish export surpassed US$2.2 billion, rising 26.4% against the figure seen in 2017, Dung said, adding that tra fish outbound shipments to the United States, China and the European Union soared by 57%, 29% and 19% respectively.