June 12, 2009

Member companies of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) gathered on Thursday (June 11) in a conference to find solutions for a fall in export sales.

In the first five months of this year Vietnam exported 400,000 tonnes of seafood with total revenue of VND1.36 billion, dropping 5.6 percent and 9.4 percent year-on-year respectively. These were the industry's first declines in ten years.

VASEP general director Truong Dinh Hoe said the decline is due to unsustainable development and poor competitive capacity and market promotion.

The percentage of dead shrimp and basa fish has increased alarmingly during the hybrid process, resulting in farmers incurring losses and higher seafood prices than in neighbouring countries.

VD Food Export Joint Stock Co. director Le Viet Tien said hybrid research should be undertaken by state institutes instead of enterprises to help avoid output decreases from breed degradation.

Nguyen Thi Thu Sac, director of a seafood processing company, said that inspections made by relevant departments could not eliminate violations of food hygiene regulations.

Sac said that the biggest challenge for the seafood industry would be the shortcomings in farming, catching, processing and food hygiene.

VASEP's Mekong Fresh Fish Committee said Vietnam had reached sustainable fish farming as farmers are breeding fewer fish than enterprises. Many enterprises disagreed with the comment, saying the actual reason is that many farmers have left their fish farms due to losses.