3:26:36 PM | 7/8/2005
Vietnam's Ministry of Fisheries has approved an action plan on the quality and trademark of its "tra" and "basa" catfish, targeting an annual export value of US$800 million by 2010 with the Mekong Delta supplying one million tons of catfish a year.
Vietnam produced around 315,000 tons of tra and basa catfish products in 2004 with around 100 tons per hectare on average, up 42.85 per cent against 2003, according to the Ministry of Fisheries.
At present, the EU takes 45 per cent of Vietnam's catfish export, the US holds about 25 per cent, and other markets take the rest. The US imposed antidumping duties on Vietnamese catfish fillets in July 2003.
A seminar on the Vietnam-Europe alliance on sustainable development of aquaculture was held in the Mekong Delta's Can Tho City on April 5. Participants touched upon, among other topics, pressing problems in aquaculture, including chemical use, antibiotic residue, and environmental pollution.
The seminar, organized by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the German Agency for Development Cooperation (GTZ), also warned of possible adverse impacts of the plan to increase the farming area and treble the present output of "tra" and "basa" catfish to one million tons by 2010.
Vietnamese
