3:53:36 PM | 11/11/2008
Vietnam’s seafood industry lacks proper planning in production and processing, which may prevent the sector from meeting its export target of US$4.2 billion for the year, an industry official was quoted.
Despite on year exports growth of 23 per cent to US$3.35 billion in the first nine months, the industry is unstable at present, with both farmers and processing enterprises in considerable trouble, Nguyen Huu Dung, vice chairman of the Vietnam Association of Seafoods Exporters and Processors (VASEP) said.
The seafood industry had experienced major difficulties due to depreciation of the U.S. dollar, increase in input materials price, and tightening of bank loans, Dung said.
Meanwhile, Vu Van Dung, head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Aquaculture Department said seafood production was facing difficulties due to the absence of a master plan for development of the industry, the fluctuation in prices and unstable supply of seafood for processing.
To address the problem, the industry needed to take fresh initiatives to streamline production and processing plans, he proposed.
Phan Nhat Ai, director of Vinh Long Province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that the industry needed to establish a clear and consistent market information system.
He cited the example that many seafood processing enterprises and aquaculture farmers in Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta’s Vinh Long Province, one of the region’s largest aquaculture areas, lacked accurate information about domestic and export market prices.
This led them to sell their products at lower prices, incurring losses in the process.
Le Tieu La, head of the Fisheries Economy Institute, said the fast growth of seafood processing enterprises was problematic. These plants had a total capacity of 5.1 million tons, while the supply of materials was only 3.2 million tons.
This year, the industry has set an export revenue target of US$4.2 billion, which means it should record earnings of US$850 million in the remaining months of the year.
Le Xuan, head of the Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Processing Department said the target would be difficult to reach because the global financial crisis was impacting many countries, and many foreign markets were tending to reduce imports. (VNA)
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