June 17, 2005

Vietnam to overcome hurdles for seafood industry expansion
  

Vietnam's fisheries sector is currently involved in the upgrade of production facilities, introduction of quality management systems, as well as the import of advanced technology to raise productivity and competitiveness of businesses.

However, industry feedback outlined some challenges that needed to be overcome.

Vietnam's material shrimp prices were higher than those of India by US$1/kg, limiting Japanese and European export market sales and reducing profit considerably. 

Seafood exporters also required months to establish food sanitation procedures because

no specific government guidelines to enterprises were available.

Many seafood enterprises have asked for land to expand production but the waiting period was too long, resulting in some having to pay large amounts of interests for banking loans.

The industry also felt the need for the government to abolish import duty on waste materials as they are used for the production of stock fodder and aqua-feed for export. In addition, firms had to pay export duty.

Custom procedures also need to be further simplified, the industry said.