October 19, 2010

Vietnam lowers October's tra fish export estimate

The Ministry of Industry and Trade in Vietnam has reduced its October forecast for tra fish exports from US$1.38 billion to US$1.35 billion following plans by the US to impose an anti-dumping tax of 130% on the fish.

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said the country's total seafood export value this year would be US$4.81 billion, lower than earlier estimates.

The new tax rate, far in excess of any previous dumping tariffs imposed on Vietnamese seafood exports in the last eight years, was agreed at the sixth administrative review by the US Department of Commerce (DOC).

In pervious DOC reviews, most Vietnamese exporters enjoyed a tax rate of just 0.52% - the lowest possible.

VASEP said the US department's ruling is unjustified and that it was based on the price of raw materials imported from the Philippines, not from Bangladesh as was previously the case.