The US Government is preparing to finalise inspection regulations thatrequire all producers and processors of catfish to abide by the samefood safety standards.

These regulations will causedifficulties not only to foreign producers, including Vietnam, but alsoto domestic farmers, according to specialists from the sector.

When passed, US Agriculture Department inspections will be conducted on adaily basis and will be more rigorous than the current random checksconducted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

It couldcost the US catfish industry millions of dollars to comply with thesenew standards, said John Sackton, a seafood industry analyst.

The American catfish industry, which is concentrated in the states ofAlabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas, has been steadily losingmarket share in recent years.

The number of hectares devotedto catfish production dropped to 23,000 this year from 65,000 in 2008,according to the Agriculture Department.

The industry says someof the decline can be attributed to higher prices for corn, which isthe primary source of catfish feed.

Several lawmakers,including senators John McCain and Jeanne Shaheen, described theAgriculture Department’s catfish inspection plan as wasteful andintended to protect only domestic catfish producers.-VNA