Hanoi (VNA) – Experts have advised tra fish businesses to focus on theAsian market, particularly China and countries from the Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2017 in anticipation of difficulties from thecurrent main markets of the US and EU.

According tothe Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), this year,tra fish exports to the USand EU will continue facing challenges, including fierce competition from othercountries.

At present,the US is the biggestconsumer of Vietnamese tra fish, followed by China.

However,Vietnamese businesses will soon struggle to sell tra fish to the US due toanti-dumping taxes imposed by the US Department of Commerce.

Besides, underthe US inspection programme of catfish, from September 2017, countries, whichcould not submit a list of export companies to the US and documents provingfood safety and hygiene according to the US Department of Agriculture’s FoodSafety and Inspection Service’s regulations, will not be allowed to export tothe market.

Given thesedifficulties, experts suggested businesses pay more attention to the Asianmarket.

The VASEPsaid tra fish exports to Chinain 2017 will still account for about 20 percent of the sector’s exports.

Businessesshould focus on the high-quality segment instead of output, change theirbusiness methods and create clean products with reasonable prices.

Chairman ofthe Board and General Director of the Hung Vuong Corporation Duong Ngoc Minhsaid China’s Hong Kong is expected to be one of the leading importers ofVietnamese tra fish in 2017 with growth of 30 percent. However, Vietnameseenterprises still need to control the quality of products and carefully review contractswith Chinese partners, he said.

He alsoadvised businesses to make use of the domestic market through selling productsat supermarkets or online.

Nearly400,000 tonnes of aquatic products worth 15 trillion VND are sold in Vietnameach year, he said.

SecretaryGeneral of the VASEP Truong Dinh Hoe said the most worrying issue at present isfish material, noting that in the fourth quarter of 2016, tra fish processingplants saw their output fall 30 percent against previous months, while demandincreased by 40 percent.

According tothe Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam has over 100 tra fishmanufacturing and export facilities.

In 2016, thetra fish sector earned 1.67 billion USD from exports, a year-on-year increaseof 6.6 percent. The fish was sold in 137 markets worldwide, with the US making up the largest proportion of 23percent, followed by China(17 percent) and the EU (16 percent).

The sector aimsto fetch more than 1.7 billion USD from exports in 2017.-VNA