Transparency, connection between enterprises crucial for tra fish development
Transparency, connection between enterprises crucial for tra fish development
Information transparency and strong connections between enterprises will significantly contribute to the sustainable development of Vietnam’s tra fish sector, said Le Minh Hoan, Party Secretary of Dong Thap Province.
Speaking at a conference, titled “Deploying the plan to develop the tra fish sector in 2019,” in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang today, February 18, Hoan said that Dong Thap Province accounted for 33% of the total area under tra fish farming in the Mekong Delta at 5,400 hectares and earned some US$1 billion out of a total of US$2.3 billion from tra fish exports in 2018.
Hoan voiced concern over the lack of information, which could hamper growth in the tra fish sector. He added that participants in the value chain of the tra fish sector had provided inadequate and conflicting information when asked about the status of the sector and markets.
“The conflicting information provided by enterprises makes the picture of the sector unclear and causes difficulties for officials acting as monitors,” Hoan added.
If the market is in trouble, it would be easy to adjust the development of the sector by reducing the area assigned to tra fish farming when there is sufficient and correct information on all firms’ regions for tra fish farming, Hoan said.
“Enterprises should cooperate closely and share information and experience to spur the tra fish sector,” Hoan said, adding that once firms prioritize the development of the sector, they will share correct information with each other.
Nhu Van Can, head of the Department of Aquaculture, under the Vietnam Directorate of Fisheries, noted that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development had set a target of earning US$2.4 billion from tra fish exports and yielding 1.51 million tons of tra fish in 2019.
Addressing the conference, Nguyen Nhu Tiep, head of the National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that the United States had released a draft to recognize Vietnamese tra fish’s quality compatibility with its own standards.
While China and Thailand were also proposed for equivalence recognition, Vietnam had the best result, with the highest rate of support from the public at 80%. Meanwhile, China and Thailand received scores of 57% and 40%, respectively.
Tiep pointed out that the process for making a final decision was affected by a 35-day partial U.S. government shutdown at the end of 2018.
“Vietnam’s relevant units are in the process of collaborating with the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) under the U.S. Department of Agriculture to gather information and urge the FSIS to quickly come to an official decision to recognize the compatibility of local tra fish (quality with its own standards),” Tiep said.
