April 27, 2017

Vietnam tries to repair damaged image of its pangasius in Europe

Vietnam hopes that its participation in the 25th Seafood Expo Global in Brussels, Belgium, held April 25-27, will somehow repair the damaged image of Vietnamese pangasius in Europe.

At the exhibition, the Vietnamese pavilion, with the theme "Vietnam--Asia's Home of Seafood", displayed products of 25 seafood companies including processors o pangasius, shrimp, tuna, tilapia, octopus and squid.

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held a press conference at the exhibition in an effort to provide clear information about Vietnamese pangasius processing and exports to European partners.

Vietnamese pangasius has suffered a backlash in Spain following a damaging expose that aired on Spanish television last January, and the Carrefour supermarket chain has ceased selling Vietnamese pangasius.

According to VASEP General Secretary Truong Dinh Hoe, the press conference also aimed to help increase the export of Vietnamese aquatic and seafood products to Europe.

Vietnam also held other trade promotion activities at the Brussels event, including a dialogue for shrimp value chains and a programme for visitors to try Vietnamese seafood.

Alfons van Duijvenbode, a Dutch consultant, said that European consumers had a bad impression of Vietnamese pangasius due to what he said was wrong information in social media.

He suggested that the Vietnamese aquaculture industry interact more with consumers to provide them with exact information about the products' quality.