Catfish export target to go down due to US tax levy

Vietnam has cut the earnings forecast for catfish export this year to US$1.35 from the estimation of $1.38 billion in August due to the imposition of anti-dumping tax on the products in the US, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Vietnam catfish export to the US immediately fell after the US Department of Commerce (DOC) announced to raise anti-dumping tariff on the products made by five exporters including Vinh Hoan, Vinh Quang, Agifish, ESS LLC and South Vina to 130 percent last month.

Currently, the average price of the product is around $3.5 – $4 a kilogram as Vietnamese product is enjoying the tariff rate of 0.52 percent.

If the tariff exceeds 100 percent, American customers will have to pay about $7-$8 a kilogram, thus making Vietnamese catfish products much less competitive, Vietnam News Agency quoted Nguyen Huu Dung, Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors as saying.

Vietnam is one of the biggest catfish exporters in the world, and the annual export of raw material totals 1.2 million tons a year.

Thoai Tran

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