The Vietnamese seafood sector targets to earn US$6.5 billion from exports in 2012 by focusing on troubleshooting difficulties, restructuring production models, improving quality, and reorganising culturing activities.
Vietnam Business Forum has an interview with Mr Vu Van Tam, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, ahead of International Livestock and Dairy Expo (ILDEX) to be organised on March 22-24. Thanh Yen and Thu Huyen report.
How has the seafood sector performed in the past years?
In recent years, the Vietnamese seafood sector has been more concentrated. In 2007, the aquaculture output exceeded the 2 million tonne benchmark for the first time. The commercial fishing was slowed at that time, with nearly 3 percent growth a year, because Vietnam’s seafood resources had reached the limit. Other reasons included high oil prices, repeated natural disasters, backward methods and obsolete fishing facilities.
However, since 2001, the fisheries sector has enjoyed relatively good growth as it has managed to overcome difficulties arising from natural disasters, epidemics, trade barriers, and global economic downturn. Production value grew at 9.4 percent a year on average while exports expanded 12.23 percent. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Vietnam is the third seafood producer, fourth exporter and 11th catcher in the world in 2009. At present, Vietnamese aquatic products have been sold to 160 countries in the world market.
Although Vietnam is a big seafood exporter, many trade barriers and technical limitations are putting a brake on the reach-out of Vietnamese seafood?
It is true that there are a lot of obstacles to the export of Vietnamese seafood. Some countries have not recognised the economy of Vietnam as a market economy. This was why they attributed Vietnam to dumping and imposed antidumping duty. Apart from creating technical barriers like food safety and product quality, they require very strict processing process control. Worse, some competitors are also taking unfair measures to defame Vietnamese products and mislead consumers.
The Vietnamese seafood has to constantly and fiercely struggle with trade barriers to sustain development. The fisheries sector continuously researches and accesses specific market and produce suitable products for it. Besides, the sector needs to strengthen close cooperation between competent management agencies and seafood processing and export associations, trade agencies, commercial representatives of Vietnam in other countries, and bilateral and multilateral organisations to address specific cases. At the same time, it has to introduce its aquatic products to importers and consumers.
How about the importance of product quality and capital investment to the development of seafood sector development at present?
Vietnam has a relatively good growth in output and scale, not value and profit. If these weaknesses are not addressed, the development of Vietnamese fishery sector will not be unsustainable. Currently, the demand for capital is great but global and domestic economic downturn narrows the access of producers and traders to credit sources in recent years, particularly 2011 and 2012. Besides, environmental and disease problems are also a challenge for Vietnam.
Given numerous difficulties and challenges, how has the Vietnamese fishery sector set the targets for this year?
Vietnam expects aquatic output at 5.4 million tonnes in 2012, of which 2.4 million tonnes come from commercial fishing and over 3 million tonnes from aquaculture. The export value is targeted at US$6.5 billion. This ambitious target requires great efforts from Vietnam as this year is seen to be more difficult than previous years.
In a further perspective, how will the fishery sector be developed from now to 2020?
In 2010, the Prime Minister approved the fisheries development strategy till 2020. Accordingly, from now to 2020, the fisheries sector will be directed towards modernity, industrialisation, quality, competitiveness and sustainable development. It will modernise offshore and onshore fishing boat fleets and apply advanced technologies to fishing. It will also develop infrastructures like fishing ports, mooring sites to upgrade logistics services. Regarding aquaculture, Vietnam will manage and exploit product chains, focus on developing key, marketable and competitive products like catfish, shrimp and oysters. It will effectively invest in inputs like breeding, feed and products manage in accordance with the product chain process.
Besides, the cooperation between producers and export processors will be bolstered. Vietnam will focus on increasing added value for its products, boost up the competitiveness of seafood products, enhance trade promotion, increase the export of fine-processed products, export products to retail and distribution systems rather than intermediary importers as now, and uplift branding.
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