August 2, 2011

 

Vietnamese tra fish price falls drastically

 

 

After touching its highest peak of VND28,500-29,000 (US$1.38-1.41) per kilogramme in May, Vietamese tra fish price has since dipped by VND4,000-6,000 (US$0.19-0.29).

 

The problem is that while the domestic tra fish price keeps decreasing, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers VASEP has still reported that the export price keeps increasing.

 

According to VASEP, the average price of the exports to the EU in the first seven months of the year was US$2.70/kg. The price represents a slight decrease from the higher peak, when the domestic price climbed to VND29,000/kg (US$1.41), but remains firmly high.

 

To date, Vietnam has exported 320,000 tonnes of tra fish, worth US$829 million. VASEP believes that the export revenue increased thanks to the export price increases.

 

As for South Korean, Japanese and Swiss markets, though the domestic price has decreased, the export prices remain stable. Products have been exported to South Korea at US$4/kg, to Japan at US$4.05. In particular, the exports to Switzerland have the highest prices at US$4.52/kg.

 

In an effort to ensure sufficient supplies for export and profits for export companies, VASEP has set up the floor export prices at US$3.30/kg for white-meat fish, and US$2.30 for red meat fish. The floor prices will be applied for the last six months of 2011.

 

Tra farmers in Dong Thap and Can Tho have doubts that seafood export companies are joining hands to force the domestic prices down. Nguyen Van Hao, a farmer in Thot Not District in Can Tho said that the floor price (the minimum price at which enterprises buy fish from farmers) for white-meat Tra fish set by VASEP is VND26,000/kg (US$1.26), but export companies only pay VND24,000/kg (US$1.16) to farmers.

 

Nguyen Van Kich, General Director of Hau Giang-based Cafatex, has also posed a question that if there is collusion among export enterprises to force the domestic prices down, farmers will suffer losses.

 

Kich has requested the Competition Administration Department (CAD) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, to carry out investigations to find out why tra fish price has been decreasing so dramatically.

 

Deputy Director of a seafood processing and export company in My Tho Industrial Zone in Tieng Giang Province, has confirmed that the tra fish prices have been decreasing continuously in the last several months due to oversupply. In particular, red meat fish have been left unsold with the stocks reaching 30,000 tonnes. Farmers in Mekong Delta now find it very difficult to sell tra fish, even though they accept low prices.

 

However, Vu Van Tam, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development has denied the information about the big inventory volumes. He said that only 5000 tonnes of oversize tra fish have been left, mostly in Dong Thap, Can Tho and An Giang.