Lower taxes on Vietnam raw seafood imports urged

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) are asking the government to reduce tariffs on imported raw seafood as local output is now getting scarce.

 

VASEP Vice Chairman Nguyen Huu Dung says seafood processors are already importing up to 70 percent of their supplies, hence, the 10 to 20 percent tariff is a burden for them.

 

VASEP also revealed that it will be difficult for the industry to meet this year's export target of US$4.5 billion due to global economic contraction as well as the reduced amount of fish farming in Vietnam after last year's heavy losses.

 

Vietnam's seafood exports went in the first five months of 2009 went down by 9.4 percent or US$1.3 billion in value.

 

VASEP says many shrimp ponds in Mekong Delta have been idle since farmers took on heavy losses last year.

 

Major shrimp producers such as Bac Lieu Province have only utilized 2,000 out of 10,000 hectares of shrimp ponds and Soc Trang Province have only farmed 1,000 hectares out of 5,000 hectares.

 

Truong Thi Loan, deputy director of Kien Long Seafood Processing Co. in Kien Giang Province, says her company could not fill all its export orders as it could buy only two tonnes of raw shrimp per day, or one fifth of its processing capacity.

 

Kim Anh Seafood Processing Co. in Soc Trang Province is only running 15-20 percent capacity, according to Deputy General Director Do Ngoc Tai.

 

The central region is experiencing a shortage of raw seafood too, but for another reason.

 

Earlier this month, industry insiders said the unilateral Chinese ban on commercial fishing in the East Sea was starving the region's seafood factories of input.

 

Nguyen Tuan Ngoc, manager of Tho Quang fishing port in Da Nang, says that barely 100 tonnes of seafood is being unloaded at the port daily, compared with 150-180 tonnes before two weeks ago.