Nearly 300 international and domestic companies gathered June 13 for the three-day “Catfish 2007 Vietnam” forum in Ho Chi Minh City where the largest fisheries exhibition (Vietfish 2007) is ongoing.
The forum was co-organized by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) and INFOFISH under the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Trade wars, value chains and EU standards on tra and basa catfish, technical aspects of catfish breeding, disease control and the potential of the fisheries retail industry were main topics at the forum.
Vietnam Deputy Minister of Fisheries Luong Le Phuong said at the ongoing forum that the strong development of the catfish industry marked a major turning point.
Total volume of catfish breeding increased from 22,500 tons to 825,000 tons from 1997 to 2006 while the exports rose from 7,000 tons to 286,000 tons during the period.
The rapid growth, though, has led to concerns of overheating development, which is normally coupled with insufficient attention to quality norms, according to government officials.
The Ministry of Fisheries has frequently told provincial authorities to review breeding and development plans.
The ministry is also encouraging companies to focus on quality under their own brand names.
Authorities also raised concern over environmental impacts caused by the rapid development, and ongoing diseases that hurt catfish populations.
This year, Vietnam is expected to earn US$1 billion from catfish export, up from US$737 million in 2006.
Eastern European countries currently are major importers of Vietnamese tra and basa catfish, only behind the US and EU markets. (Liberated Saigon)
Vietnamese
