Exports of tra fish earns US$1.2 billion in first seven months

Export turnover of tra fish reached $1.2 billion in the first seven months in the Mekong delta, an increase of 19.3 percent year-on-year, according to the Directorate of Fisheries at a yesterday conference held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and People’s Committee of An Giang province.

The conference was held to review fish farming and export in seven months as well as implement project to breed new tra fish.

According to the Directorate, breeders in the Mekong delta have raised fish in 4,033ha farms with aquaculture yield of 814,086 tons in 2,335 hectare.

Exporters netted $1.2 billion, up 19.3 percent against the same period last year. China, the US and EU buy Vietnamese tra fish most.

Specifically, export revenue of tra fish to China, the US and EU was $289.8 million, $255.33 million and $139.13 million respectively, followed by ASEAN, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, UAE markets. 

By the end of July, 2018, fish farmers increased breed fish in 3,587-ha farms in An Giang, Dong Thap and Long An provinces.

However, the Directorate said there exists problems in production and consumption of the fish. For instance, rise in fish price pushed up increase in raising; subsequently, fish farmers in Long An converted their paddy field into fish pond without understanding raising technique resulting in diseased fish and low quality fish.

Additionally, fish exports encountered difficulties such as anti-dumping laws, negative information in EU, strict quality requirements in some markets; accordingly, enterprises must have measures to keep production, quality and brand name of Vietnamese tra fish.

The Vietnam Pangasius Association proposed support for enterprises to expand markets along with build brand name for the high quality Vietnamese tra fish. Besides, more tra fish products are sold in the markets to meet different demands of customers.

Moreover, a logistics center for fish sector in the Mekong delta should be set up in Can Tho City to ensure Vietnamese pangasius quality when taking part in supply chains in China and Singapore.

For the project, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam said the project aims to produce high quality breed fish for breeders’ increasing demand in the Mekong delta contributing to grow the pangasius sector sustainably; accordingly the sector can satisfy the local and world requirements in the future. 

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong emphasized that 2018 will be the year for the sector to make breakthrough with possible turnover of $2 billion.

Notwithstanding, for the sectors’ sustainable development, local governments must take heed to create good breed fish, food for fish, and processing.

The sector should adopt high technologies and diversify their products, with priority given to value-added products and enter more export markets. The link between farmers and enterprises play an important role in order to increase export value in the future, said Minister Cuong.