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City’s ornamental fish exports rise
Ornamental fish breeders in HCM City exported 4.2 million fish in the nine months of the year, already matching the total export figure for all of 2008, according to Pham Lam Chinh Van, deputy head of the HCM City Sub-Department of Fisheries Quality Management and Source Protection.
About 60 kinds of ornamental fish were exported, mostly freshwater varieties, with the EU and US forming the biggest markets.
The city has nearly 300 units raising ornametal fish, double the number in 2003, said Truong Trung Thu, head of the fisheries section under the HCM City Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, with the volume of ornamental fish raised in the city rising by nearly 50 per cent.
"HCM City has many advantageous conditions for raising ornamental fish," said Thu. "Moreover, many craftsmen who are famous for raising ornamental fish are living in the city. With the land for agriculture being reduced, raising ornamental fish is a very suitable business."
"But it’s still a career that tends to be closed to the inexperienced, with fathers passing the skill on to sons," Thu noted.
A lack of co-operation among breeders had also prevented them from winning bigger export contracts, he said.
"Normally, major contracts call for a large volume of fish and they want many different kinds. Not many breeders in HCM City can meet this kind of demand so exporters have to buy up fish from different suppliers in the city," said Thu.
Due to these shortcomings, only 8 per cent of the total fish raised in HCM City was exported.
Nevertheless, the city had a goal to raise 60 million fish and export 6 million of them next year, with the total exports to rise to 40-50 million fish by 2020, Thu said.
To solve the problem, Van proposed that ornamental fish breeders change their business method and concentrate on production, as well as pooling information and trade promotion efforts.
"We hope that, in 2010, with the support of the Government, we can export 10 per cent of the total ornamental fish we raise in the city," Thu said.
While ornamental fish have been commercially raised for export since 2001 in such locations as Quang Ninh, Ha Noi, Hai Phong, Nha Trang, Da Lat and Vung Tau, HCM City has remained the leader.
"Each kind of ornamental fish has a different price. Some kinds of fish are very expensive while others aren’t, so its difficult to exactly calculate the export turnover," Thu added.
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