Tra fish shipments held up over error
Tra fish shipments held up over error
The National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, has informed processors and exporters of tra fish bound for China and regional agro-forestry-fisheries quality centers that tra fish shipments to the northern neighboring country are running afoul of customs clearance procedures due to the incorrect labeling of the product in Chinese.
The tra fish shipments, with the scientific name Pangasius hypophthalmus, had been incorrectly labeled as basa fish in Chinese. The exporters had used the wrong label in declaring the goods at China’s customs agency as well, the local media reported.
The department confirmed that the label did not match the information certified by Vietnam’s competent agencies.
As such, the department has asked tra fish processors and exporters to carefully review their labels and packaging to ensure they match the information registered and declared in export applications.
The department also proposed local importers of China’s tra fish accurately declare the name and scientific name of the fish in Chinese when carrying out import procedures.
Besides this, agro-forestry-fisheries quality centers were also asked to spread the word among processors and exporters of tra fish bound for China.
Tra fish looks like basa fish, which is also a species of catfish, but basa has the scientific name Pangasius bocourti. Due to the similarity in appearance, many customers often find it hard to differentiate between the two.
