November 16, 2006

Vietnam catfish prices jump on European demand

The price of tra catfish rose by its highest at VND500-800 (US$0.03-US$0.04) per kilogramme in Vietnam's Mekong Delta, spurred by a sudden surge in demand in Europe.

In An Giang and Can Tho provinces, white 'meat' tra rose to US$0.95 per kilo, red tra, US$0.85 to US$0.86, and yellow tra from US$0.79 to US$0.82.

Some local processors had to suspend huge export deals with the EU because of the jacked-up prices.

The An Giang Fisheries Association said the sharp increase was due to booming demand in Europe, especially Russia.

Vietnam's current catfish output is less than 500,000 tons a year and it plans to expand it to nearly two million tons by 2020.