Tra fish industry caught in a trap

Tra fish industry caught in a trap

The Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) proposed that the state establish a production quota for tra fish in order to avoid an oversupply.

The country's seafood exports reached $1.8 billion by the end of the third quarter, an increase of 12.5 per cent over the same period last year, according to VASEP. However, tra fish output in the first nine months of this year declined 11 per cent to 723,000 tonnes, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). The shortage is expected to last beyond the end of this year, forcing almost all tra fish export processing factories to temporarily halt production, said Duong Ngoc Minh, VASEP deputy chairman.

The proposal was one of several plans that the association submitted to the Prime Minister for restructuring production and consumption of tra fish to boost sustainable development.

VASEP suggested that the MARD establish an annual quota for each province producing tra fish and ensure that it was maintained.

The specific quantity would be determined by the MARD, the VASEP and the Viet Nam Tra Fish Association as well as provincial people's committees and provincial seafood associations based on forecasts about exports and domestic consumption from the VASEP and the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Then provincial people's committees and seafood associations would establish quotas for individual farms. They would also control the production process and quality of raw materials.

The VASEP also proposed a pilot mechanism for exporting Vietnamese tra fish products to the EU. To limit unfair competitiveness, the Zeebrgge Port in Belgium would distribute them to 28 EU markets. The VASEP would take care of transport, logistics, auctions on electronic trading floor, distribution and payment.

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