Vietnam - Filipino plan may put pressure on Vietnam’s tra fish industry

VietNamNet Bridge – International press has reported that the Philippines are applying all necessary measures to develop its catfish industry. This means that the country would reduce the tra fish imports from Vietnam and fewer opportunities for Vietnam’s tra fish products.

It is understandable why the Philippines try to develop the industry. Tra fish farming and processing can bring considerable profits, because the fish grow rapidly and are easier to raise than tilapia. Especially, tra fish has great markets, both domestic and foreign. Once the country succeeds in its plan to foster the catfish production, it would reduce the tra fish imports from Vietnam.

While trying to increase the catfish productivity, the country strives to stop importing tra fish fillet products from other countries, including Vietnam.

Filipino Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources BFAR brought tra fish (pangasius hypothalamus) to the country in 1981. This is a valuable fish species, popular in South East Asia (Cambodia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam).

In July 2010, Filipino Department of Trade and Industry headed a delegation of 20 members to visit the main tra fish growing areas in Can Tho and HCM City in Vietnam. Filipinos tried to learn experience from Vietnamese aquaculture and seafood processing companies.

After that, DTI started the program on farming tra fish in a trial basis in Mindanao, run by Regional Operations Development Group (RODG). The DTI-RODG operates under the direction of the national food security program which has created many good projects.

By December 2011, the project had seen the total investment capital reaching 202.358 million peso, creating 915 stable jobs, making a great contribution to the food security program through the small and medium enterprise development.

According to Filipino agencies, the country imports about 600 tons of tra fish fillet products from Vietnam a month, worth 1.6 million dollars.

Vietnam’s Mekong Delta has been well known for two kinds of fish – tra fish (pangasius hypothalamus) and basa (pangasius bocourti). The fishes can be processed into fillet, ball and other products, which are exported to the Philippines, where the products are sold at local shops, high grade restaurants or fast food shops like McDonalds, Chow King and Kenny Rogers.

Filipino fillet imports from Vietnam increased continuously from 2008 to 2010 and only decreased in 2011. In 2009, the catfish imports rose by 69 percent from the previous year, from 2751 tons to 4652 tons. Meanwhile, the imports rose by 44 percent to 6689 tons in 2010.

However, the country’s tra fish imports from Vietnam dropped by 28 percent in comparison with 2010 to 4836 tons, which was explained by the efforts of the Filipino administration with the private sector to support the tra fish farming industry of the country.

BFAR said that the total catfish output increased by 186.74 percent from 2008 to 2010. BFAR hopes that the fillet products in the country would be able to replace the current imports, mostly from Vietnam, by 2016.

At present, Vietnam’s tra fish industry is facing big difficulties which, experts have warned, threaten the existence of the industry. Saigon giai phong has reported that the tra fish prices have dropped dramatically to 22,000-23,000 dong per kilo, raising big worries to farmers. Meanwhile, seafood companies have been in distress, because they have to borrow capital from banks at sky high interest rates.

Both farmers and seafood exporters find it hard to access bank loans, which have forced farmers to leave fish ponds idle and seafood companies unable to collect fish materials for processing.

Doanh Nhan

Business & Investment Opportunities 
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programmes. Many thanks for visiting www.yourvietnamexpert.com and/or contacting us at contact@yourvietnamexpert.com

Dear Reader,

May I invite you to visit our new blog: IIMS-Asean http://iims-asean.blogspot.com/

News and activities of the International Institute of Medicine and Science Asean Chapter of IIMS, Inc. California, USA - Health care, Life Science, Education, Research, Philanthropy. Asean is the economic organisation of ten countries located in South East Asia: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. IIMS is a non-profit organization.