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US firms to support Vietnam catfish industry
US-based seafood importer Mazzetta Company LLC and animal feed producer Proconco will help Vietnamese catfish farmers produce quality catfish for export to the US.
Mazzetta would cooperate with a Vietnamese firm to train fish breeders to farm and process catfish in accordance with US standards, its chairman, Tom Mazzetta, said.
Together with Proconco, it will also help farmers in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang set up a closed fish-farming process comprising feeding, farming, processing, and consumption.
Proconco will undertake research and development to ensure the quality of fish feed.
The Vietnamese fisheries industry is set for harder times since the US is considering including tra and basa in its list of catfish under the 2008 Farm Bill, Mazzetta warned.
If that happens, Vietnamese catfish must satisfy stricter hygiene regulations and will come under closer inspection.
In Vietnam, catfish is mostly raised in cages on the Mekong River instead of in shallow ponds as required by US regulations, and would thus be unable to enter the US, Mazzetta said.
“Tracing and sustainability are challenges to Vietnam’s catfish,” he said.
The Vietnamese government should be prepared to step in to protect the country’s farmers, he said.
Vietnamese catfish exports to the US were worth US$134 million last year and $94 million in the first two months this year, up 36.5 percent against the same period last year.
The US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) gave the green light February 16 to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to launch food safety inspections on imported catfish products, Vietnam News Agency reports.
Officials from the Departments of State and Commerce and several members of Congress criticized its decision, saying catfish imports are being unfairly targeted, particularly from Vietnam.
Earlier, many lawmakers called on the USDA not to redefine Vietnamese tra and basa as catfish under the 2008 farm bill since their imports would then be subject to stricter hygiene norms, which Vietnam cannot afford due to the high costs involved.
Congress members had made it clear they did not intend to include Vietnamese catfish in the Farm Bill when voting for it last year.
The restriction on the import of tra and basa could also lead to retaliatory action by Vietnam, they warned.
vietnews, VNA
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