Vietnam-made seafood products have survived the “antibiotic residue” problems in the US market, proving their good quality to US consumers, according to John Connelly, President of the US National Fisheries Institute (NFI).
Connelly said Vietnamese seafood products have been widely favored by US consumers. After the case in which antibiotic residues were discovered in seafood in 2005, Vietnam has taken drastic measures to rectify the problem.
“We are pleased to know that the problem has been settled, which has made us secure about the quality of Vietnam-made products and about Vietnam’s efforts to improve the products’ quality,” he said.
However, he said Vietnamese enterprises and state agencies should find solutions to the problem of food hygiene soon as it would not be good if Vietnam only acted after importing countries raised their voices.
In 2005, Connelly came to Vietnam and had working sessions with the Ministry of Fisheries (MoF) and the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), and he realized that Vietnam had been taking actions to prevent abuse of antibiotics.
Soon after US Customs and Border Protection authorities (CBP) decided to ask US importers to pay bonds for importing seafood from Vietnam, NFI initiated legal proceedings with the US Court for International Trade (CIT) against the decision.
NFI has argued that requiring bond payments for importing goods from countries which are already imposed with anti-dumping taxes is against the US laws, and has asked CBP to remove the decision.
According to Connelly, it is too early to say that the regulation on paying bonds will be removed, but NFI has gained satisfactory results in the first stage of the lawsuit.
The US court, in the first phase of the procedure, accepted the argument that the CBP’s move was unlawful. The court asked CBP to reduce the requirements on bond payments and set up a ceiling level. The second stage of the lawsuit will kick off in early 2007, and the final decision will be made in mid year.
Connelly affirmed that Vietnamese enterprises were in a very good position to penetrate the US market. The most important thing for Vietnamese exporters is that their products have stable quality.
Moreover, they must obey the strict regulations of US law, especially the labeling and packaging regulations.
Vietnamese exporters should not only ensure the safety of the export products, they should also seek to understand the taste of US people as well.
In fact, many US importers ask Vietnamese exporters to do things that violate US law. Of course, Vietnamese exporters must not do these things, said Connelly.
In related news, the Southeast Asian country reportedly exported 210,000 tons of tra and basa catfish last year, fetching revenue of US$560 million. (Youth)
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