Can Tho Province Developing Comprehensive and Sustainable Fisheries

4:19:17 PM | 1/11/2006

Can Tho City has a considerably developed fisheries sector. With an extensive river and stream network and a profuse water source, the fish farming area has expanded very quickly. Can Tho has also developed sizeable aquatic products processing plants and many of them have made a good reputation on the global market.

Since 2000, the fisheries sector of Can Tho City has been on the stable rise. The fish aquarium area was increased from 7,104 ha in 2000 to 12,111 ha in 2005. The output value was raised from VND73.2 billion (US$4.6 million) in 2000 to over VND500 billion (US$31.25 million) in 2005. The aquatic material output in Can Tho City was increased from 15,688 tonnes in 2000 to 118,393 in 2005.

To date, the city has 62 refrigerating plants with a combined designed capacity of 104,640 tonnes a year. All processing equipment is quite modern and imported from Japan and Denmark. However, due to the insufficient supply of input materials, many factories do not operate at full capacity. In 2005, the local output can satisfy 50 per cent of the demand by processing factories in the city.

Another advantage of the fisheries sector is the increasingly expanded export market. Four or five years ago, the city mainly shipped aquatic products to the United States but now it has sent fishes to Japan and Europe. The export to new markets is quite stable. In addition, Can Tho City also has a senior scientific workforce, who can candle from rearing to processing stages. Research institutes and schools in the city also create favourable conditions for the fisheries sector as well as other industries to promote their strong points.

Under the Can Tho overall fisheries development plan until 2015 and vision to 2020, the city will develop a complete production cycle, from the rearing area planning stage to processing stage. The plan emphasises the production of breeding varieties, processing, export, high economic production efficiency and environment friendliness. Accordingly, Can Tho City will diversify breeding varieties and rear high-yield and exportable species.

At the same time, the aquatic product processing industry remains a key economic sector of Can Tho City. This will provide the momentum for the growth of the fisheries sector. The aquatic export will contribute half to the total export earnings of the city. To realise this, processing factories will continue expanding markets and promoting competing advantages to make deeper penetrations into key markets of the US, the EU and Japan.