November 30, 2010

 

Vietnamese exporters reject EU's fish criticism

Vietnam's seafood exporters have criticised a European parliament member who has alleged that the pangasius or tra fish is farmed in "filthy" pools and polluted rivers.

 

Local seafood exporters have asked Struan Stevenson of Scotland to visit the farms on the Mekong River and see the breeding pools for himself.

 

Stevenson told the European Parliament last week that the river where the fish are raised was one of the most polluted rivers on earth and those factories along its banks daily pumped thousands of tonnes of contaminants into its slow-moving waters.

 

Stevenson also said imports of the cheap fish were undercutting European fish farmers and allowing multinational firms to exploit virtual "slave labour" in Vietnam. The fish was farmed by "slave labour" paid US$1 per day, a situation ruthlessly exploited by some major multinational companies.

 

Truong Dinh Hoe, general secretary of Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP), said Vietnamese aquaculture farms maintained very strict global standards of quality and seafood products exported from the country met stringent standards required by international markets.

 

"Most of our industry's processing plants not only meet HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) standards, but also meet or exceed other voluntary standards such as those set by the British Retail Consortium, the US Department of Commerce, and SQF 1000," said Hoe.

 

The SQF 1000 system is a HACCP-based supplier assurance code designed to meet the needs of primary producers.

 

Hoe said many of the association's members were also preparing to acquire Best Aquaculture Practices audits and certifications.

 

Vietnamese firms were working hard to grow and innovate in the face of the higher costs of feed and other raw materials, a demonstration of the country's commitment to becoming a global producer of the much-needed protein.

 

Stevenson, though, alleged that pangasius was already being sold at rock-bottom prices under names including basa, grey sole and Vietnamese river cobbler by UK supermarkets, fishmongers and fish-and-chip shops.

 

He said UK sales of frozen pangasius have rocketed by 50% to nearly 1,500 tonnes, while sales of traditional species like cod, salmon and trout have dropped in the past year alone.