Ho Chi Minh City has defined ornamental fish as a spearhead in restructuring crop and livestock production from now until 2020 and toward 2025 because this variety creates higher values in the same area unit and is suitable in urban agriculture.
Development advantage
Ho Chi Minh City is now home to hundreds of ornamental fish shops scattered in all districts. Expectedly, the ornamental fish husbandry will thrive when living standards of local people are getting higher.
The city’s ornamental fish export revenues account for 50 per cent of the country’s total export earnings. The Vietnamese ornamental fish have been exported to many countries and territories like Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, China and the EU. The country also eyes new markets. Ho Chi Minh City is superior in raising ornamental fish for export. With its good water source, warm climate and rich natural food, the city is the best place for tropical ornamental fish. Notably, Vietnam lies in one of three most famous ornamental fish zones, namely South America, Africa and Southeast Asia. The country can breed good-looking and rare ornamental fishes in all types of water like salty, brackish and fresh.
Ornamental fish breeders in the city have now domesticated and conducted successful artificial multiplication of imported fishes like Japanese carp, angel fish (Pterophyllum spp.) and tiger barb (Puntius tetrazona).
Additionally, Ho Chi Minh City also has effective husbandry models, has a good position for this fishery (along Dong Cu Chi canal) and has a large direct market of eight million residents. The demand for playing “ornamental fish” will increase as local dwellers are seeking new forms of leisure to relieve stress.
Particularly, many people in the city have rich experience in breeding and multiplying ornamental fishes in Vietnam. They take care, hybridise and create many new species of fishes for the world. Into the bargain, the business community plays an active role in stirring up the ornamental fish market. Nowadays, HCM City has around 500 ornamental fish shops, two suppliers of ornamental fish and nearly 600 ornamental fish households which produce some 20 million heads a year. Many Vietnamese ornamental fishes won international trophies.
Besides, the Ho Chi Minh City Ornamental Fish Association is operating actively under the umbrella of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. The 800-member association regularly organises conferences on ornamental fish and techniques relating to water treatment, culturing, hatching and disease treatment. Thanks to these events, local members acquire new knowledge for developing the ornamental fish culture.
Export prospects
The Ho Chi Minh City Ornamental Fish Association said the city has more than 500 ornamental fish culturing households, including 200 export-oriented households, which can produce 51 million heads a year and earn VND220 billion. Each household earns an average of VND860 million and profit accounts for 40 - 60 per cent. Many households in District 8, District 12, Go Vap, Binh Thanh and Hoc Mon districts become rich from culturing ornamental fish.
Ornamental fish is now not only for the domestic market but also for export to many nations like France, Germany, the UK, Switzerland, Denmark, Canada, the US, Brazil, Japan and Australia. Presently, Ho Chi Minh City has 10 exporters which ship 2 million local ornamental fishes valued at US$5 million to European markets (60 per cent) and the US (25 per cent). In the first two months of 2009, they exported 1.1 million worth of ornamental fishes. On average, each week, the local quality and fishery authorities examine more than 100,000 ornamental fishes for export. Of 50 species of ornamental fish, 36 species are cultured for reproduction and 14 species are domesticated. Carps lead the production with 25 per cent, followed by seven-colour fish with 22 per cent. In terms of product value, five species of discus fish (Symphysodon), Xiem fish, seven-colour fish, Japanese carp and yellow fish make up 90 per cent of value. Remarkably, discus fish only accounts for 4.1 per cent of production output but contributes 40.3 per cent of value, becoming the most profitable export for the time being. Especially, three city-based units, namely Saigon Ornamental Fish Joint Stock Company (Cu Chi district), Vo Van Sanh Ornamental Fish Farm (District 9), and Chau Tong Ornamental Fish Farm (Cu Chi district), have been certified to export carps to the US by the city’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Department of Animal Health (under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development). The penetration into the US market is a new chance for the city’s ornamental fish farmers to boost production.
To date, the ornamental fish culturing and trading create regular jobs for more than 1,000 people. In the past, the development of this sector illustrates the fitness of the city’s urban agriculture.
Future orientations
To support sustainable culturing and exporting of ornamental fish, the city’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development collaborated with the Ho Chi Minh City Ornamental Fish Association to build an ornamental fish village on an area of 30 ha in Cu Chi district to multiply ornamental fish and culture ornamental fish on larger scales. With high demand and limited supply, ornamental fish farms have expanded their husbandry to other suburban localities like Cu Chi and Hoc Mon. Besides, the city also approves the development orientation for the culturing of ornamental fish and flowers for exports until 2010. Expectedly, export revenues of ornamental fish will reach US$40 - 50 million in 2010 (a rise of 10 times). Ornamental fish households will be granted access to soft bank loans to scale up their production and are exempted from import taxes.
My Chau
Vietnamese
