Ho Chi Minh City is a major centre for breeding ornamental fish. (Photo: danviet.vn) HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City’s ornamental fish breedingindustry is seeking to expand consumption markets as production and export ofthe species have been growing.
According to statistics from the municipal Department of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment, in the first nine months of the year, the city produced 115million ornamental fish, up 18 percent year-on-year, and earned 15.11 millionUSD from exporting 13.36 million fish, respectively surging 35 percent and 23percent from the same time last year.
Small-scale and scattered production without cooperation among production establishmentshas made it difficult for Vietnamese suppliers to satisfy large orders, said LeMinh Phu, owner of Phu Ca ornamental fish farm in District 12.
To handle the problem, a specialised area should be zoned off to raisedifferent kinds of ornamental fish, he suggested.
However, Tong Huu Chau, owner of Chau Tong ornamental fish farm in District 12and Chairman of the city’s ornamental creature association, said that it isdifficult to set up such a zone due to limited land fund in the city.
Establishment of “satellite” ornamental fish farm systems will be a betterchoice as it reduces planning for ornamental fish farming land and helpsbreeders form their own ornamental fish village to branch out business.
Linking with fish exporters is the best solution for fish breeders to increasetheir income, said Vo Thi Mong Thu, head of the city’s fisheries department.
New pet fish species must be developed in parallel with improving their qualityas they play significant roles in improving Vietnamese fish’s competitivecapacity. Especially, Asian countries like China and Singapore import new kindsof Vietnamese ornamental fish and then export to other countries in their brandnames.
Vietnamese pet fish are shipped to 47 countries, with Europe accounting for60-70 percent of the market share. Other major buyers are Germany, the UK,Sweden, Denmark, France, Italy, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.
Ho Chi Minh City is a major centre for breeding ornamental fish, accounting for50 percent of the country’s ornamental fish export earnings, according to thecity’s Centre for Agricultural Consultancy and Support. It has bred manyspecies, both foreign and local, and has established many feed mills thatcontributes to the growth of the industry.-VNA
VNA
