Vietnam's Ornamental Fish Faces New Barriers in EU Market
Ornamental fish exporters in Ho Chi Minh City are complaining about the European Union’s new barriers to prevent fish imports from Vietnam saying their business has been badly affected.
In a complaint to the fisheries ministry, the Ho Chi Minh City Ornamental Fish Association (OFA) said since January 2005, the EU had suspended imports of several kinds of ornamental fish from Vietnam after a change in its quarantine rules.
The EU also demanded that exporters have a certificate to prove that the fish they imported did not have Spring Viraemia of Carp, a deadly virus found in Asia.
Saigon Aquarium, a major ornamental fish trader in the city, said its fish sales were down by as much as 70 per cent following the EU action.
The association said the city had lost US$1 million in fish exports to the EU.
Nguyen Tu Cuong, head of the National Fisheries Quality Assurance and Veterinary Directorate (Nafiqaved) said his organization would work with the European Commission to get Vietnam recognized as an official fish exporter to the EU.
However, he said, it would take two to three years to accomplish that, a time frame the OFA said was unacceptable.
Ho Chi Minh City's ornamental fish sector produces around 20 million various kinks of fish per year, exporting between three-four million individual units to Asia, US, and EU.
The city plans to increase the export value of ornamental fish to US$40-50 million by 2010 from the current US$4-5 million.
Young People
Vietnamese
