Vietnamplus

Vietnam is facing an urgent need to build brands for its tra fish, a big foreign currency earner, amidst numerous challenges facing the industry.

Vietnam’s tra fish exports to Southeast Asian countries were worth 87.3 million USD in the first five months of the year, a year-on-year increase of 14.6 percent, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

Vietnam’s seafood export turnover in June reached 794 million USD, raising the total value for the first half of the year to nearly 4 billion USD, up 0.3 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Agro Processing and Market Development Authority (AgroTrade).

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has implemented several measures to develop the best breeding sources to produce seeds for the delta’s fishery, fruit and rice sectors by 2025.

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) has forecast that tra fish exports to the EU will increase by 20-35 percent in 2019.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has implemented several measures to develop the best breeding sources to produce seeds for the delta’s fishery, fruit and rice sectors by 2025.

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).

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is opening the door wide for Vietnamese tra fish, a major foreign currency earner, to enter the markets of 10 other members of the deal.

More than 10 key agricultural products of Vietnam are being sold across 160 countries and territories worldwide.

Aquatic businesses have begun to feel the windfall from the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which came into force in Vietnam from January 14, 2019.

Exports of aquatic products in the second quarter could increase by 8 percent at the highest, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

Shipments of Tra fish from the Mekong Delta to the US and China, two of the biggest buyers of the products, have dropped compared to the figure last year.

Vietnamese tra fish, a major foreign currency earner, has gradually won the trust of Japanese consumers as seen in the market’s emergence as one of the 10 biggest tra fish importers of Vietnam.

Vietnam earned 55.17 million USD from tra fish exports to the ASEAN as of the late March, up 18 percent year-on-year, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors.

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.

The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has announced its final decision of the DOC’s 14th Period of Review on anti-dumping tariffs on Vietnam’s tra fish batches imported into the country during the period from August 1, 2016 to July 31, 2017.

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 UK in the first quarter increased by 69.5 percent to 11.9 million USD, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

The aquaculture sector makes up nearly 10 bln USD in exports each year but the sector is facing several challenges, including the threat of completely losing markets for Vietnamese tra fish products.

Tra fish exports were worth a record high of 2.2 billion USD in 2018, 26.4 percent higher than in 2017 and representing a breakthrough for Vietnam’s catfish industry.