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How to boost farmers’ sales of tra and basa catfish
On July 7, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held an online conference to discuss the consumption of tra and basa catfish in the Mekong Delta provinces.
Shortage of capital
The problem is that these provinces have encountered difficulties to businesses due to high interest rates. As a result, many farmers who badly need capital have had to sell their fish at lower prices.
The Deputy Chairman of the Dong Thap provincial People’s Committee, Le Vinh Tan said that the province now has around 36,800 tonnes of tra and basa catfish in stock and 40,300 tonnes of fish ready to be harvested. The province could borrow some VND200 billion from banks but most enterprises have refused to borrow due to high interest rates and complicated formalities. Therefore, Dong Thap has so far disbursed only VND81 billion.
Vo Thi Phuoc Hong, the owner of a tra and basa business in the province said that the price of tra and basa catfish is continuing to fall while the price of input materials has increased rapidly, by more than 10 percent in one month alone.
The shortage of capital to buy feed means that a lot of fish are left hungry, affecting the quality of the fish for export. For example, in Can Tho city, most households raise around 100 tonnes of fish but they have not signed any deals with processors. As a result, they have to sell their fish at a loss of between VND4000-6,000 per kilo on the local market.
A representative from the Can Tho Seafood Association said that although there is a policy for borrowing capital, most households find it difficult to access capital.
Tran Thanh Lap, deputy chairman of the Hau Giang provincial people’s committee said that the amount of fish in stock is not large. The province has disbursed only VND15 billion to help farmers buy feed. Processors are not seemingly in any hurry at all.
Another problem is that farmers and enterprises lack accurate information about the prices of tra and basa catfish on both local and foreign markets.
Capital disbursement should not become “meaningless”
General Director of Nam Viet Company, Doan Toi said that if disbursements are not carried out urgently, the amount of fish left hungry will become bigger, causing damage to both local farmers and enterprises.
Deputy Director of the Hau Giang provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Huynh Chi Nghuyen said that no effective measure have not been taken to stimulate the consumption of tra catfish in stock while the disbursement of loans is too slow.
Nguyen Huu Dung, vice president of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said that the prices of tra and basa catfish will continue to fall in the near future while domestic businesses cannot raise export prices and must spend a lot on repaying loans. Mr Dung said that the immediate solution is to make a good balance between supply and demand and provide extra loans to farmers. In addition, Mr Dung emphasised that to quickly deal with the stocks of tra catfish the Government should provide around VND3,000 billion in loans with preferential interest rates and offer more supportive measures to fish breeders.
Avoid falling into vicious circle
Nguyen Huu Dung said that processing enterprises have increased their production capacity by 1,000 tonnes per day, but they cannot consume it all in July and August as estimated. However, there is likely to be a shortage of catfish in late 2008 and early 2009 as 20 percent of farmers will stop breeding fish due to their recent losses.
According to local reports, farmers are unable to invest in their next crop because most of their capital still lies in their fishponds.
Mrs Hong said that a sharp increase in food supplies has caused a number of difficulties for farmers. They cannot sell their tra catfish and have no money to invest. Fully grown fish cannot be kept so they must barter them away at any cost. Ironically, credit is not where credits is due.
Ta Quang Khanh, head of the Credit Department of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) affirmed that the SBV is committed to providing enough capital for agricultural enterprises but it must consider new projects carefully before lending. Provinces must closely control their farmers’ production in order to help the banks consider extending debts for farmers as banks do not give loans to just tra and basa catfish producers.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien said that his ministry will ask the Ministry of Transport and the Electricity of Vietnam to remove any obstacles caused by power cuts or slow delivery at ports.
Minister Phat affirmed that the relevant ministries and departments will take measures to help reduce the price of fish feed. However, localities will also have to find ways to solve their own problem. Mr Phat urged the departments of agriculture and rural development in the Mekong Delta region to strictly control the production of tra and basa catfish and the VASEP and relevant organsations to provide regular updated market information for farmers.
VOV
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