November 20, 2006

Strong European demand spurs record prices of Vietnamese catfish
 

THE price of tra, a kind of catfish has risen to record prices in Vietnam's Mekong Delta, as rising demand in Europe pushed up prices.

In An Giang and Can Tho provinces, white meat tra rose to VND15,300 (US$0.95) per kilogramme, red tra to VND13,800-14,000 (US$0.87), and yellow tra to VND12,800-13,200 (US$0.82), Thanh Nien News reported.

Processors are feeling the pinch, with some saying they had to forego contracts because of the sharp increase in prices. The An Giang Fisheries Association said the price increase was on account of booming demand in Europe, especially in Russia.

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