Close linkage between fishermen andbusinesses
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Directorate ofFisheries, thanks to a project to develop tuna value chain implemented by theministry in the past five years, the tuna fishing and processing industry hasenjoyed impressive achievements.
During 2014-2018, annual tuna output grew by an average 6 percent while tunaexport increased by an average 7 percent each year. In the first nine months of2019, Vietnam shipped over 550 million USD worth of tuna to foreign markets, ayear-on-year increase of 16 percent.
Deputy Director General of the Directorate of Fisheries Nguyen Quang Hung saidthat the country has 25 ports serving tuna fishing vessels and 60 firmsprocessing tuna for exports.
The tuna fishing fleet numbers nearly 48,000 offshore vessels, catching around170,000 tonnes of tuna each year, or four times higher than the amount recordedin 2014, he added.
Besides making heavy investment in storage facilities, processors and exportershave paid due attention to increasing added value of the fish and promoteexport of processed tunas like tuna canned in oil, pouched tuna, and tunafillet.
Vice Director of Binh Dinh province’s Department of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment Tran Van Phuc laid stress on the significance of the closecoordination among fishermen, purchasers, processors and exporters, saying itcontributes greatly to the success of tuna sector.
Currently, the country has nine tuna value chains, four of which are in BinhDinh province, two in Phu Yen and three in Khanh Hoa, he said, adding tunafishermen are equipped with Japanese fishing tools.
Huge potential for tuna export
The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said the USand Europe have the largest demands for tuna. A survey by US-based firm TriMarine, which is now owned by Italy’s Bolton Group showed that canned tuna,which is a key export item of Vietnam, is favoured over other tuna products inthe US market.
This trend in the taste of foreign consumers is favourable for Vietnameseexporters.
However, as the world market is certain to fluctuate, Hung suggested theGovernment and competent ministries, sectors and branches to arrange resourcesto upgrade specialised fishing ports and developed tuna logistics services sothat the tuna industry can maintain its momentum.
In addition, he said research institutes and universities should enhancescientific research and transfer fishing, processing and preservingtechnologies to fishermen and firms to improve tuna quality./.