The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development set a target of attaining US$6.5 billion in seafood exports in 2012. Under a seafood export development strategy for the 2010-2020 period, Vietnam will export US$10 billion worth of seafood products and become one the world's fourth biggest seafood exporters by 2020.
Optimistic signs
The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said that shrimp exports were expected to reach US$2.5 billion in 2012. Increased farming of White Claw Shrimp combined with the lessons learnt from controlling Black Tiger Shrimp disease in 2011 would help ensure supplies of shrimp for export remain more stable. Major shrimp importers like Japan, the US, China and the Republic of Korea (RoK) still have high demands for shrimp imports and they have planned to buy more value-added products and import less semi-finished products. However EU has yet to provide more positive signs due to the ongoing financial crisis.
Tra fish exports are expected to reach US$2 billion this year. Of this, exports to the EU are expected to decrease, while those to the US, Brazil, Mexico, Africa and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CISs) should grow; frozen products remain strategic exports. It was expected that in the off-season of 2012 there would be shortages of Tra fish for export production and therefore the price for Tra fish may increase to match the highest price seen in 2011. Hung Vuong Joint Stock Company Chairman and General Director Duong Ngoc Minh, said that although difficulties exist, countries would still continue to buy Tra fish because of reasonable prices and its nutritious character. Seafood businesses said that in early 2012 many importers from Asia and the US had placed orders for large amounts of Tra fish fillets and that they were working hard to fulfill the orders.
Demands for tuna and bivalve mollusks in the RoK, the US, Japan, Canada, Australia and Russia are set to increase in 2012. The Vietnam Tuna Association said that about 17,000 tonnes of tuna could be caught in Vietnam annually and that about 10,000 tonnes of tuna were caught in Binh Dinh, Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa provinces alone per year. Tuna is still exported in whole form because there are no tuna processing facilities inside Vietnam.
According to VASEP General Secretary Truong Dinh Hoe, with high demand for seafood, favorable modes of payment and a short geographical distance from Vietnam, the RoK, China and Japan would remain major markets for Vietnamese seafood businesses in 2012.
Solving problems
Hoe believed that the Vietnamese fishery sector will face major challenges related to raw material shortages, food hygiene and safety and export market development in 2012. Domestic businesses said that the price for fresh shrimp in Vietnam is currently 10 percent higher than that of imported shrimp, and that this has left them worried because they cannot increase their prices. Minh Phu Seafood Corporation Chairman and General Director Le Van Quang said that many businesses had applied advanced processing technology to conserve raw materials.
The quality of raw materials still leaves businesses worried. Hung Vuong Joint Stock Company Chairman and General Director Duong Ngoc Minh said state management authorities only controlled the quality of finished products, but not that of breeds and feed that farmers use for aquaculture. Hai Nam Company Limited General Director Nguyen Thi Thu Sac in Binh Thuan Province said that fishermen were still catching seafood with small boats and they cannot sufficiently preserve their catches.
Most of businesses agreed that product quality needs to be controlled far more comprehensively; from breeding and type of feed used to finished product creation and that the authorities need to work harder and more effectively to better control seafood quality.
In a recent meeting with seafood businesses, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam said that in 2012 the Government would adopt a plan for increasing investment in agriculture especially farming of major seafood products that already have markets and have proved their competitiveness, such as shrimp and Tra fish, as well as plans for managing seafood quality in all stages of production, while promoting the modernization of fishing boats and post-harvest preservation technologies. This year, the ministry will strengthen education among fishermen and seafood farmers while receiving feedback to revise projects in accordance with reality. He suggested that VASEP increase information exchanges between management authorities and businesses and farmers so more favorable conditions can be created for businesses.
In the first quarter of 2012, the ministry will hold a meeting between the National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (NAFIQAD) and businesses to discuss and find solutions to existing problems./.
Source: Ven.vn | ven.org.vn