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Catfish coding may help boost exports
All tra and basa catfish will carry a code designating their breeder and origin under a plan being developed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to help boost the sustainability of exports.
Being able to identify the source of fish was necessary, said Nguyen Van Thanh, director of the An Giang provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, adding that new regulations would require fish breeders to maintain records on the origins of fish fry, breeding and feeding regimes, medicines used, and hygiene conditions in breeding ponds and rearing areas.
The authorities would work with an outside consultant to develop guidelines for the farmers.
When coded fish were sold to enterprises, the enterprises would be able to identify the source of fish based on the codes and to access databases with information related to the fish, Thanh said.
Any health or quality problems with the fish processed by exporting enterprises could be traced back to a particular farmer or breeder.
The code programme and guidelines should be completed by 2012, Thanh added.
Meanwhile, the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP) has announced that the Binh An Fisheries Joint Stock Co would export 50,000 containers of tra and basa products to the US in August. The company was one of the four leading exporters to the US in the first half of this year.
Another 10,000 tonnes of catfish would be shipped to Russia in the final four months of this year, bringing the year’s total expected exports to Russia to 60,000 tonnes, said Duong Ngoc Minh, head of the tra catfish export management commission.
A Brazilian delegation was also expected to soon arrive Viet Nam to inspect processing facilities and execute import contracts. Brazil was a high-potential market, with exports to eventually rival those to Russia, the ministry said.
In the first half of this year, the total export value of catfish reached US$614 million, down slightly from the same period last year. The ministry projected it would fall slightly short of its target for the year of $1.3 billion in export value, attributing the failure to the impacts of the global economic crisis.
Viet Nam exports tra and basa catfish to 110 countries and territories.
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