June 12, 2008

Vietnam seafood producers say export target unattainable

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (Vasep) said that the country's seafood export target worth US$4.25 billion may not be attainable.

 
Truong Dinh Hoe, general secretary of Vasep, pointed out that seafood exporters and producers are facing difficulties such as shortage of capital and raw materials.

In the first five months of the year, Vietnam fetched around US$1.5 billion in seafood export revenue, with earnings from shrimp decreasing considerably, Hoe said.

 
In recent months, the number of shrimp farmers has declined due to shrimp diseases, specifically in the central provinces and the Mekong Delta.

 
This has made the shrimp export target of some US$1.5billion unattainable this year, Hoe added.

 
Furthermore, fish farmers in the Mekong Delta have been encountering difficulty in selling their tra and basa catfish while their demand for bank loans were unmet.

 
Tran Thien Hai, chairman of the association, said that at the moment there are some 300,000 tonnes of nature fish remaining unsold in the delta.

 
Nguyen Van Giau, governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, announced last week to let the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development in eight provinces in the delta lend more funds to fish processors.