October 2, 2006

Vietnam calls for improved catfish farming plan

The Ministry of Fisheries in Vietnam is calling for an improved fish farming plan, particularly in their tra and ba sa (catfish) industry for an enhanced catfish production and reduce pollution in their aquatic areas.

Deputy Minister of Fisheries Nguyen Thi Hong Minh said that the government has drafted a master plan to prevent the worsening environmental pollution and stabilize erratic export markets. The plan envisions hastening the expansion of catfish output by two million tonnes in 2020 to earn at least US$1-1.5 billion in annual exports.

The proposal, however, has earned flak from experts.

Nguyen Thanh Phuong, dean of the fisheries faculty of Can Tho University, said that instead of expanding the areas for catfish farms, the government should focus more on production efficiency and sustainable development. He called for an immediate solution to address the improper use of feeds which has been pinpointed as the main cause of water pollution. Phuong noted that a large amount of waste due to excessive use of feeds has been discharged to rivers and fish breeding ponds, thus aggravating pollution problems in aquatic farms.

Ngo Phuoc Hau, general director of Agifish Vietnam's biggest catfish processor--said that rather than concentrating on bigger catfish output, the ministry should also be concerned with the unstable market trends to avoid oversupply which could lead to low prices. Hau added that demand for catfish had gone up in the recent past only due to concerns over bird flu and foot-and-mouth disease

As of September this year, the country yielded 500,000 tonnes of catfish and exports in the first eight months amounted to US$600million.  Last year, Vietnam exported 118,640 tonnes of catfish and its by-products amounted to US$303.1 million. The country is expected to produce at least an annual production of 863,000 tonnes with an export value of US$800 million each year until 2010.