Thanks to better input material supply and the application of a closed production process, tra fish industry is expected to overcome difficulties and become profitable again in the third quarter of this year, according to analysts.
An event took place in Hanoi on June 9 to help promote the domestic consumption of tra fish products, a major foreign currency earner that has been hit hard by impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Vietnam’s tra fish exports fell 29.3 percent year on year to 334 million USD in the first three months of this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the industry – a big foreign currency earner – may fully recover in the third quarter, according to the Directorate of Fisheries.
This year is believed to be a brighter year for the domestic tra fish industry with exports inching up in the first quarter, according to an official from the Vietnam Pangasius Association.
Nearly 100 percent of tra fish ponds used for commercial production in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap have been granted identification numbers, reported the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The domestic tra fish industry has faced challenges regarding the purchasing price on the domestic market as well exports due to high tariffs on the product in the US market, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).
Vietnamese tra fish exporters are confident that their business will continue to thrive in the coming time despite facing anti-dumping duties and expansion of farming areas in many rival countries.
Vietnam’s tra fish (pangasius) industry has been urged to strongly improve its quality so as to compete with not only traditional rivals, but also its biggest tra fish importer – China.
Vietnam’s tra fish exports to the United States have remained stable after it imposed a demand that exporting countries demonstrate their food safety control system is equivalent to that of the US.
Mekong delta localities sought to achieve sustainable development for Tra fish farming in Vietnam at a conference in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang on June 23.
The US Senate’s approval of a bill that would repeal the US Department of Agriculture’s catfish inspection programme is good news for Vietnam’s tra fish industry.
After a hasty start, Vietnam's tra fish industry should now plan an image makeover to improve the quality of exports and be competitive, for the long term, experts said.
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