Tra fish exports to generate US$2.3b this year
Tra fish exports to generate US$2.3b this year
The Directorate of Fisheries, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, estimates outbound sales of tra fish at US$2.3 billion this year due to positive signs in the local tra fish sector. Moreover, the U.S. Department of Agriculture on October 31 officially approved Vietnamese tra fish compatibility.
Nguyen Nhu Tiep, head of the National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department, noted that the United States’ recognition of the country’s food safety control system for tra fish is expected to ease the outbound shipments of Vietnamese tra fish to the U.S. market and other markets, the Vietnam News Agency reported.
Apart from this, the number of Vietnamese tra fish exporters to the United States has risen to 13, contributing to raising the volume of tra fish shipped to the market for the rest of the year.
Duong Nghia Quoc, chairman of the Vietnam Pangasius Association, stated that aside from the United States’ decision, which has opened up major opportunities for the tra fish sector, some newly signed free trade agreements, including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, offer preferential seafood import tariffs.
Besides this, the Asian market has remained stable, smoothing the path for tra fish exports, Quoc said.
Over the past few years, local tra fish exports have faced multiple difficulties as the prices of tra fish plunged.
Between January and October, the revenue from tra fish exports totaled US$1.6 billion, down 10% year-on-year, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers.
The fall was attributable to the decline in tra fish shipments to some major markets, such as the United States, Brazil and Colombia, and a sharp tumble in prices of material tra fish during the period.
For example, in the Mekong Delta region, these prices ranged from VND20,000 to VND25,000 per kilogram in November, down VND5,000-VND8,000 per kilogram year-on-year, according to the Agro Processing and Market Development Authority.
