Larger investments in processed technology are key to the growth of the tra fish business, the industry’s association chairman, Nguyen Viet Thang, proclaimed at a recent workshop in the Mekong Delta province of Can Tho.

Thang noted that fish have long been exported as fillets, without any value added via further processing work. As a result, remaining fish parts such as bones, heads and skin have been wasted and only used for livestock feeding.

Moving forward, the association aims to improve overall quality, stabilise the number of fish farms, curb uncontrolled expansion of breeding and provide additional financial assistance for farmers and enterprises.

Exported Tra fish fillets are sold at 0.5 USD per 100 grams, while convenience products, fried fish or those combined with organic vegetables can earn up to 4 USD per 100 grams, according to Joerg Rosenberger, Vice Director General of the German aquatic processing company Nienstedt.

In 2014, Vietnam sold 1.7 billion USD worth of tra fish overseas with Germany consuming 12 percent of the total export.

Vietnam is among three major tra fish suppliers to the German market; the others are the US and China. The Southeast Asian country hold great potential to strengthen its foothold in Germany, said Rosenberger.

Last year, the Mekong Delta reserved 5,500 ha for farming tra fish, which turned out 1.1 million tonnes in output.

Vietnamese tra fish fillets have been shipped to 150 countries and territories across the globe.-VNA