July 3, 2012

Mekong Delta exports additional 26,000 tonnes tra fish

Since the beginning of the year, Mekong Delta has shipped an additional 26,000 tonnes of tra fish, raising the total volume of exports to 287,000 tonnes worth US$862 million.

According to the Mekong Delta Tra Fish Production and Consumption Steering Committee, the EU, Asean and the US are the key importers, with the earnings from the US and Hong Kong markets increasing by 39-53% compared to the same period last year.

The Mekong Delta region now has 3,900 hectares of tra fish breeding areas, however the output of 354,000 tonnes was produced from only 1,200 hectares.

At present, the market price of tra fish has fallen, standing at VND19,500-20,000 (US$0.93-0.96) per kilogramme, meanwhile, the price of tra fish in the global market place fell by US$0.1-0.2 per kilogramme from 2011.

To deal with this problem, in the second half of the year, breeders in the Mekong Delta will be supported with capital to increase the quality of input and to prevent disease in fish.

The localities are currently maintaining their existing markets and are expanding to new markets in Eastern Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States and Mediterranean countries.