July 31, 2010

 

Brazil may up tariffs on Vietnamese tra fish

The Brazilian government is seeking to raise import tariffs on tra fish imported from Vietnam following pressure from the Brazil National Council of Fishery Aquaculture and Exploitation (CONEP), according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

 

Earlier on June 1, chairman of the CONEP, Fernando Ferreira and representatives from fishery associations in Brazil said at a meeting with Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Wagner Goncalves Rossi that they have lost control over the tra fish imported from Vietnam.

 

Ferreira said that Vietnamese tra fish is bred at unsafe environment, but available at big supermarkets in Brazil.

 

The Vietnamese fish, which is selling for unusual low prices, are threatening Brazil fishery industry, he stressed.

 

The council's move worried importers of Vietnamese tra fish because CONEP has great influence on the government, as they urged the Vietnamese authorities to work with Brazilian counterparts to deal with the incident.

 

Vietnamese firms have exported around 6,000 tonnes of tra fish worth nearly US$12 million, and 18 tonnes of frozen fish of other kinds for US$40,000 to Brazil so far this year.

 

Number of Vietnamese firms exporting seafood to Brazil in the Jan-Jun period doubled from a year earlier to 120, said the VASEP.