Reducing output to a level suitable for export demand is an importantmeasure in the ongoing restructuring of the tra fish industry, theVietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) hasargued.
Delegates at an October 24 meeting of trafish producers in southern Can Tho city agreed with VASEP’s idea, sayingthat it would help increase tra fish prices if it was implemented.
According to VASEP Secretary General Truong Dinh Hoe, tra fish outputreached 1.3 million tonnes in 2012, 650 times that in 2000, and broughthome 1.8 billion USD from export, up 692 times.
One of theadvantages of the industry is that great amounts can be produced usingonly 6,000ha of water, which is only 1 percent of that required forshrimp farming, he added.
However, too fast andspontaneous development resulted in corollary, including export pricedecline, from 3.76 USD/kg in 2000 to under 2.2 USD/kg in 2012, accordingto Hoe.
Worse still in the last two years the US’sincrease of anti-dumping duties on Vietnamese tra fish has challengedthe industry the official said, adding that the breeding area for thefish reduced by 13 percent while output dropped 11 percent in the firstnine months of this year.
According to Doan Toi,Director of the Nam Viet Corporation - one of Vietnam’s biggest tra fishexporters and processors - breeders should cooperate with each other todevelop large-scale breeding areas and apply hightechnology to ensurefish quality and quantity for export.
Delegates atthe meeting suggested that exported tra fish fillets to Europeancountries should be shipped via Belgium’s Zeebrugge port as a solutionto increase export volume and market share.
VASEPstatistics show that tra fish exports to the EU increased quicklybetween 2003-2008 with the value rising from 17 million USD to 581 USD.However, in the first eight months of this year, the figure was only 254million USD, a year-on-year decrease of 12 percent. The market sharesfell from 48 percent in 2007 to 22.4 percent in the eight-month periodof 2013.-VNA
Delegates at an October 24 meeting of trafish producers in southern Can Tho city agreed with VASEP’s idea, sayingthat it would help increase tra fish prices if it was implemented.
According to VASEP Secretary General Truong Dinh Hoe, tra fish outputreached 1.3 million tonnes in 2012, 650 times that in 2000, and broughthome 1.8 billion USD from export, up 692 times.
One of theadvantages of the industry is that great amounts can be produced usingonly 6,000ha of water, which is only 1 percent of that required forshrimp farming, he added.
However, too fast andspontaneous development resulted in corollary, including export pricedecline, from 3.76 USD/kg in 2000 to under 2.2 USD/kg in 2012, accordingto Hoe.
Worse still in the last two years the US’sincrease of anti-dumping duties on Vietnamese tra fish has challengedthe industry the official said, adding that the breeding area for thefish reduced by 13 percent while output dropped 11 percent in the firstnine months of this year.
According to Doan Toi,Director of the Nam Viet Corporation - one of Vietnam’s biggest tra fishexporters and processors - breeders should cooperate with each other todevelop large-scale breeding areas and apply hightechnology to ensurefish quality and quantity for export.
Delegates atthe meeting suggested that exported tra fish fillets to Europeancountries should be shipped via Belgium’s Zeebrugge port as a solutionto increase export volume and market share.
VASEPstatistics show that tra fish exports to the EU increased quicklybetween 2003-2008 with the value rising from 17 million USD to 581 USD.However, in the first eight months of this year, the figure was only 254million USD, a year-on-year decrease of 12 percent. The market sharesfell from 48 percent in 2007 to 22.4 percent in the eight-month periodof 2013.-VNA
