HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City’s ornamentalfish breeding industry is seeking to expand its overseas markets.

The sector earned 21 million USD from exports in the first 11months of the year, a rise of 5 percent year-on-year, according to themunicipal Fisheries Sub-department.

The city, the country’s largest producer of ornamental fish,has 89ha of ponds devoted to raising ornamental fish in outlying districts,mostly in districts 9, 12, Binh Chanh and Cu Chi, with more than 290 householdsinvolved in the business.

They raise more than 60 species of fish. Of the figure, morethan 40 are bred while the rest are caught from rivers and springs.

They export to 43 countries and territories, with the EuropeanUnion (EU) being the biggest market, buying slightly more than half of allexports.

To develop the industry, the city has undertaken manyprogrammes, including setting up a model under which participating companieshave to properly manage their business.

They have to comply with requirements related to controllingrisks, preventing the fish from contracting diseases, reducing the impacts ofclimatic conditions, and improving their fish-raising skills.

Thanks to this, breeders have been able to improve quality,thus raising the profile of the Vietnamese ornamental fish industry.

A key promotional event for them is the annual OrnamentalFish Festival in November. Companies raising ornamental fish promote theirbrands and introduce their breeding models here, said Pham Thiet Hoa, Directorof the HCM City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre.

Exports have risen sharply since 2015 when they were worthonly 12 million USD.

However, exports remain far short of potential since fishbreeding remains small-scale and scattered, which makes it difficult to fulfillarge orders, said Nguyen Trong Phu, the owner of an ornamental fish farm inDistrict 12.

To address the problem, a specialised area should be zonedoff for raising various ornamental fishes, he suggested.

A lack of research means there are no unique products in themarket.

To expand the domestic market and increase exports, the cityplans to upgrade breeding infrastructure and boost promotion of ornamental-fishbrands.

It also plans to set up a website to boost onlinetransactions for businesses and help them with advertising.

The city is a major centre for breeding ornamental fish,accounting for 50 percent of the country’s total exports, according to itsCentre for Agricultural Consultancy and Support.

It breeds many species, both imported and local, and has manyfish feed production plants./.