Fishy goings on in the seafood export industry

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers has repeatedly advised members to remain cautious when doing business with foreign importers, especially with the world’s economy not yet recovered.

The warning has been released after many Vietnamese seafood exporters did not receive payment from foreign partners.

Klion Company Ltd, which is headquartered in Ukraine and has two branches in Panama, did not make payment for a consignment of seafood products worth 2.2 million dollars it imported from a Vietnamese processing company in October 2008.

The Vietnamese exporter repeatedly chased the debt even going as far as sending staff to Ukraine. However, to date, the money is yet to be received.

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) has blacklisted set of companies, including Ocean Fish SRL with offices in Rumania and the Ukraine Fish Service Co Ltd.

Some late payments go back years. Vietnamese companies have signed contracts on exporting basa fish and seafood products to Hoogland Foods BV and Star Procurement Inc. Deliveries were made several years ago, but exporters have still not received payment.

The Commercial Affairs Division under the Vietnamese Embassy in the Netherlands, which checked the database at the Dutch Chamber of Commerce, found many suspicious dealings.

Star Procurement Inc is originally an African company which is registered for business in the Netherlands. The person, who contacted Vietnamese companies was Gert.J Hoodlands, director of Hoogland Foods BV. However, the legal entity which signed contracts with Vietnamese companies was Star Procurement Inc.

The foreign partners always delayed payment. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese exporters could not contact the importer.

In another case, a Dutch company, through a Chinese broker, signed a contract on importing fish from a Vietnamese company. The Vietnamese exporter also met difficulties in getting paid, though it tried to contact the importer.

Finally, the Vietnamese company received payment only after it brought the case to the court. However the Vietnamese company had to spend a lot of time and money on the case.

VASEP said seafood is valuable at nearly 100,000 dollars per container which explains why partners occasionally try to commit fraud.

Vietnamese businesses have been advised to ask foreign partners to provide information about their business registration and check information before conducting negotiations. However, in many cases, businesses only contact the commercial affairs division under Vietnamese embassies in foreign countries after they sign contracts with foreign partners.

VietNamNet/DTCK

Tags: Vietnam Seafood, Vietnam seafood export