An Giang (VNA) - Minister of Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentNguyen Xuan Cuong has urged the Mekong Delta provinces, especially An Giang, toapply advanced technologies in tra (pangasius) fish production.

Speaking at a conferenceheld on August 21 in An Giang province, Cuong said that catfish exports arelikely to exceed 2 billion USD as no other country has the advantage that Vietnamdoes in this sector. 

He said one of the keysolutions for pangasius farming was “sustainable development” throughcutting-edge technologies. 

“Provinces must re-planproduction and diversify their products, with priority given to value-addedproducts. They should also diversify export markets,” he added.

Nhu Van Can, Director ofthe Department of Aquaculture under the Directorate of Fisheries, said in thefirst seven months, the catfish industry faced a number of challenges,including barriers from import markets. |

An anti-dumping duty anda catfish inspection programme prevented local seafood enterprises frompromoting exports of catfish to the US market. 

Vietnam’s catfishexporters found it more challenging to export to this market after the USDepartment of Commerce (DOC) imposed high anti-dumping duties on frozen catfishfillets imported from the country. 

DOC has announced thatnine Vietnamese enterprises entitled to separate tariffs will be subject to3.87-7.74 USD per kg, a record-high rate. 

Exports of catfish tothe EU continue to decline. In addition, Saudi Arabia continues to suspendimports of seafood products from Vietnam. 

While China remains aconsumer of Vietnamese pangasius products, it is likely to become a potentialcatfish supplier to the world, which also poses a barrier for the Vietnamesepangasius industry.

Despite challenges,exports in the first seven months continued to increase by 19.3 percent overthe same period last year, reaching 1.198 billion USD.

In the first sevenmonths, catfish exports to China reached 289.8 million USD, accounting for 24.2percent of the market share, and up 40.6 percent over the same period.

Many businesses at theconference said the quality of the breed is the most importantfactor. They also proposed producing seed varieties with high technologyto limit diseases. 

Regarding thehigh-quality catfish breeding project, most of the participants agreed that it willbe a new step for the catfish industry.

It is expected thatthe catfish chain of Vietnam will be strictly controlled, from thefirst to final stage in the production chain. 

In March, the Ministryof Agriculture and Rural Development approved a project on producinghigh-quality catfish species in the Mekong Delta.

The project aims tocontribute to the development of the catfish industry in a sustainable mannerto meet the requirements of national and international markets.

Under the project, thethree-level catfish fingerling production chain will meet 50 percent of thedemand for high-quality catfish in the Mekong Delta by 2020, and 100 percent ofdemand for high-quality catfish species by 2050.

The project will buildup a chain of catfish production in the region, focusing on An Giang and DongThap provinces in the region. 
The concentrated areafor catfish species must be in line with the local land use planning, with anarea of 50 hectares or more, convenient for water sources and environmentallysound, in accordance with regulations.

In a recent interviewgranted to Vietnam News, Truong Dinh Hoe, Secretary General of the Vietnam Associationof Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), said in order to exportaquatic products to foreign markets, enterprises must comply with requirementson quality, food hygiene and safety.

Vietnamese businesseshave been focusing on improving the fisheries production chain, from seedproduction to cultivation, processing and exporting, he said.

Many companies have beenawarded international certificates and are qualified to export catfish fish tohigh-end markets such as the US and the EU, he said.

Therefore, to maintainexport market share, the most important prerequisite is still quality, he said,adding the price of products is also a key factor. 

Many companies haveupdated technology in the value chain, thus the production cost should befurther optimised to compete with other aquatic products such as whitefish,tilapia or American catfish, Hoe noted.  

VASEP is seeing arecovery in the EU and South America, as well as good growth in theChinese market with increasing demand for high value products. This shows thatVietnamese catfish is still attractive in the world market.

The seminar was held toreview the production and consumption of catfish and implementation of thehigh-quality pangasius breeding project.-VNA