INDUSTRY NEWS
Vietnamese pangasius exports rise in the months through April, while prospects for seafood exports to South Korea are bright this year, despite fishkill reports in at least four provinces.
VIETNAM SEAFOOD RISING
Pangasius exportS up 5.2% in Jan.-April…
Vietnamese pangasius exporters generated US$507.54 million in revenues during the first four months, up 5.2% from last year, signalling the recovery of pangasius consumption in the global market, especially in large markets, the Vietnam Association of Shrimp Exporters and Producers (Vasep) said. In April alone, the value is at an estimated $142.08 million, up 13% compared with the same month in 2015.
In early and late 2015, pangasius sales posted negative growths, as import prices slumped. However, in the first four months of this year, pangasius import prices in some markets rebounded.
Notably, the shipments to China-Hong Kong witnessed a year-on-year significant increase. This market took up 13.3% of total export value, displacing the Asean from its third-place position among the biggest importers last year. Asean ranked fourth during the first four months, accounting for 8.7% of total exports. This goes without saying that pangasius exports to Asean countries are on a downtrend.
In the first four months, according to Vasep, Vietnamese pangasius exports to China-Hong Kong were valued at $67.49 million, up 61.1% year-on-year. Particularly in April, the value is at an estimated $22.98 million, up 93.7% from April 2015.
Pangasius export turnover to Asean region in January-April reached $44.03 million, down 3.3% year-on-year. Of the Asean countries, Thailand remained as the leading importer of Vietnamese pangasius, valued at $15.87 million, followed by Singapore and the Philippines, valued at $11.17 million and $9.41 million, respectively.
During the period under review, the US remained as the largest importer of Vietnamese pangasius valued at $115.16 million (accounting for 22.7% of total export value), up 7.2% from the same period last year. The US particularly increased its imports of fresh pangasius fillets.
In mid-March, the price of Vietnamese raw pangasius soared after it had stayed stagnant. This was driven by drops in the country's pangasius farming area and production, especially in some key provinces. Pangasius price is now up to VND22,000 (98 US cents) per kilo.
…Seafood exports to South Korea seen to rise…
Vietnamese seafood exports to South Korea should increase significantly this year because of the free trade agreement between the two countries, which took effect last December, the Korea Fishery Trade Association (KFTA) said.
Representatives of KFTA and the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (Vasep) met recently at the press briefing for the Busan International Seafood & Fisheries Expo (BISFE), the largest international seafood trade exhibition in South Korea, which will be held on Oct. 27-29.
At the press briefing, the Korean representative said the Korean market favors seafood products from Vietnam like shrimp, pangasius, tilapia because of they were safe and hygienic.
"We will strive to do our best to introduce potential exporters to Vietnamese exhibitors at BISFE to create conditions for the two sides to develop business connections and come up with a trade agreement right at the fair", a KFTA representative said.
…Seafood 'safe and stable' amid fishkill reports
Vietnam's seafood producers and exports have assured local and international consumers that their products remained "safe and stable".
The assurance was made following an EU alert about "the abnormal dead fishes in Vietnam" and which asked member states to tightly control marine product shipments from Vietnam.
While not denying or confirming the reported fishkills in Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue provinces, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Producers and Exporters (Vasep) stressed that in fact, the main fishing grounds supplying raw material for Vietnamese seafood exports include Binh Dinh, Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen and Binh Thuan provinces in south central Vietnam and Kien Giang and Ca Mau in southern Vietnam.
Fishes in those parts, it noted, were caught by large-capacity ships in off-shore fishing grounds. Also, it added, many exporters processed raw materials imported from other countries.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), Vasep also said, had confirmed that the off-shore fishing areas (beyond 20-30 miles from shore) in the four provinces where the fishkills were reported, "are safe".
Moreover, seafood processing and exporting establishments "are required absolutely not to purchase dead fish…. So far, along with tight supervision of NAFIQAD (National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department), processors and exporters have seriously implemented the control criteria as well as enhanced traceability measures to ensure stable quality of exported products", Vasep said.
Vasep said Vietnam ranks as the third-largest seafood exporters in the world, accounting for over 5% of the market share.
DRUG RESIDUE FINDINGS
US rejects some shrimp exports from India, Thailand in May
The US refused entry to nine shrimp entry lines in May, for reasons related to banned antibiotics, of which eight were from India.
The nine entry line refusals in May involved two companies, and were reported by two different regional offices of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), according to the Southern Shrimp Alliance.
The two companies were identified as Jagadeesh Marine Exports of India), which had eight entry lines refused for shrimp contaminated with veterinary drug residues in the San Francisco District; and Narong Seafood Co. Ltd. of Thailand, with one entry line refused, also for contamination with veterinary drug residues, as well as nitrofurans, in the New England District.
The Southern Shrimp Alliance noted that this was the first refusal of a shrimp shipment from Thailand for banned antibiotics since September of 2005.
In the first five months, the FDA refused a total of 54 shrimp entry lines for banned antibiotics, almost as many as the total number in 2012 (55). Of the number, 39 entry lines were from India, more than last year's 34 entry lines.
In 2012 India had only one entry line of shrimp refused into the US, but the number of refusals due to contamination with veterinary drug residues has increased significantly yearly since 2013.
'NEED FOR REGULATION'
Antibiotics use in Chilean salmon highest in 9 years
Antibiotics was found to have been used in 557 tonnes of Chilean salmon in 2015, indicating the tendency toward its intensive use over the past five years, according to the latest report of the Chile National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (Sernapesca).
The figures, corresponding to 46 companies in the sector operating in both freshwater and the sea, pushed the consumption rate per tonne of salmon to reach its highest point in the past nine years, with 660 grammes per tonne.
The amounts used in Chile, where it is delivered orally through feed and also as vaccines, are above those in other producing countries such as Norway, where the figure is less than one tonne per year.
Christine Bornes, adviser to the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (FSA), said it is important to reduce its use due to the drug resistance that can be transferred to humans, she told La Tercera newspaper.
Paul Midtlyng, a researcher at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, pointed out that the reduction, in the case of Norway, is related to fish vaccination. "We need to develop effective vaccines," he stressed, while acknowledging that it is not always easy, and it can be quite expensive.
After the high figures in the report, Alicia Gallardo (head of Sernapesca Animal Health Department) announced that Sernapesca would take additional measures to regulate antibiotics use. For example, the prohibition of the drugs in the quinolone group (flumequine and oxolinic acid) during the feedlot phase at sea will be set as there is no national surveillance programme to verify the resistance.
In addition, in order to increase control of the treatments that each farming centre implements, the official said the "retained prescription" system would be made enforceable for prescribing antimicrobial drugs.
Meanwhile, Felipe Sandoval, president of SalmonChile, the trade union bringing the sector representatives together, explained that Chile could not be compared to Norway because the conditions are not the same. "There, other diseases are present and they use chemicals that we do not deal with here, they are very different situations", he stated.
Chilean salmon's gain is Norway's gain, too
Improved biology in Chile with predictable and sustainable volume growth will benefit Norway's salmon industry, Cermaq's CEO Jon Hindar said at a seafood conference in May.
Norway and Chile accounted for 80% of global supply in 2015, and other regions are too small to materially impact global market balance and prices.
Hence, a prolonged negative growth scenario in Chile can lead to loss of demand for salmon unless growth in Norway can compensate.
The SRS bacteria is the main problem in Chile, leading to low price and quality realisation and a concern regarding the high use of antibiotics. An effective vaccine against SRS is needed. Hence, Cermaq is engaged in R&D to support vaccine development as well as running systematic trial of new vaccines.
It is definitely possible, but there are no "quick fixes" for a recovery of Chilean salmon farming toward becoming a sustainable industry, Hindar said.
EXPORTERS UNDER PRESSURE
Vietnamese catfish affected by new US regulations
Catfish breeders, processors and exporters in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta are under pressure to meet the stricter standards on food hygiene and safety under new US regulations.
Trương Đình Hòe, general secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (Vasep), has told exporters to work closely with consultants and Vietnamese agencies to meet US inspections on catfish exports.
The US is the leading export market for Vietnamese catfish.
Exporters of catfish and other siluriformes fish have been struggling with the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Final Rule, which took effect in March to regulate locally raised and imported siluriformes fish.
Under the rule, an 18-month transitional implementation period is applied to both domestic and international catfish producers.
Võ Hùng Dũng, deputy chairman and general secretary of the Vietnam Pangasius Association, said the rule could cause enterprises to lose the US catfish market, which accounts for more than 20% of Vietnamese catfish exports.
The challenge for enterprises is significant as the new inspections are viewed by industry insiders in Vietnam as a way of limiting catfish exports.
Nguyễn Ngô Vi Tâm, CEO of Vĩnh Hoàn Corp., one of the leading catfish exporters to the US, said Vĩnh Hoàn was one of a handful of pioneering local companies that applied an integrated production chain, ranging from breeding, farming, processing and export.
Only three Vietnamese catfish companies export to the US, with Vĩnh Hoàn accounting for 45% of the market share, according to Tâm.
The company owns more than 450 hectares of breeding ponds and can manage 60% of raw material needs for processing and exporting. It has 6,000 workers that meet labour law requirements.
"Our standards ensure food safety and traceability without causing an adverse impact on the environment," Tâm said.
The company's catfish export turnover totalled US$112 million in the first five months of the year, up nearly 10% over the same period last year.
Last month, the company reached a record-high turnover with export valued at $28.5 million, a rise of 48% over the same period last year.
In 2014, Vĩnh Hoàn received BAP (Best Aquaculture Practices) certification from the Global Aquaculture Alliance for its entire production chain.
To better prepare for US inspections and other trade barriers, the company this year plans aims to seek new export markets.
The company has maintained high market shares from between 20 and 30% in traditional markets like the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada and Australia. In the first five months of the year, the company achieved positive export growth in China and Japan.
"We aim to increase the supply directly to large supermarkets instead of traditional import and distribution channels in importing countries," Tâm said.
However, although many processors and exporters now have their own farms and invest in advanced technologies, it is still difficult to meet all the standards and requirements imposed by importers, according to Vasep.
GAA-DESIGNED
Colombia welcomes BAP programme
The Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Colombia's Federación Colombiana de Acuicultores (Fedeacua).
The signing ensures that Colombian farmers, processors, hatchery operators and feed manufacturers are able to access the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) third-party certification programme to comply with local and international market requirements.
Fedeacua committed to provide the support and funding necessary for farms, processing plants, hatcheries and feed mills to apply for BAP certification.
The agency set aside US$150,000, which will go toward BAP certification.
In exchange, GAA agreed to provide the education and training necessary for facilities to apply for BAP certification, serving as an effective tool to develop broad-based sustainable aquaculture in Colombia.
Additionally, GAA, through the BAP market development team, agrees to promote BAP-certified facilities in Colombia to retailers and food service companies worldwide.
"Fedeacua has set an excellent example of how government and the private sector can work harmoniously to improve responsible aquaculture in a country," said Marcos Moya, BAP's market development manager for supply chain. "This represents real change on the water for the responsible aquaculture movement."
Marine Harvest, Deep Sea Supply ink deal
Marine Harvest and Deep Sea Supply PLC have entered into an agreement to establish a 50/50-owned aquaculture joint venture involving the building and operation of aquaculture vessels.
Both companies believe there is significant room for efficiency improvements across the value chain in aquaculture shipping, ranging from reduction in new building cost to more cost-efficient operations.
Accordingly, Marine Harvest aims to significantly reduce costs related to vessel services through the joint venture. Over the past few years, aquaculture vessels have increasingly become an integrated part of the value chain.
Marine Harvest currently charters 44 vessels with a combined cost of approximately EUR100 million (US$112.1 million) per year, making the company the industry's largest charterer of such vessels.
The joint venture expects to enter into contracts for the construction of aquaculture vessels which will be chartered by Marine Harvest upon delivery.
Current discussions indicate a substantial reduction in new building cost compared to solutions provided by alternative aquaculture providers. The joint venture entity will be Marine Harvest's preferred provider of aquaculture vessels. The intention of the partnership is to also compete for external contracts.
Deep Sea Supply is a leading owner and operator of supply vessels and has a proven track record of building and operating vessels in a cost-efficient way. The joint venture will enter into management agreements with Deep Sea Supply covering all necessary management services for the partnership, including technical management, ship management and other corporate services.
Deep Sea Supply has the operational platform in place required by the joint venture to meet its strategy of safe and efficient operations of aquaculture vessels.
According to Marine Harvest, the aquaculture shipping industry is fragmented and characterised by lack of competition.
Through the joint venture, Marine Harvest and Deep Sea Supply aim to consolidate the industry to achieve economies of scale.
