Seafood sector slams ‘false’ claims by US catfish farmers

In another saga in the long-running catfish feud, the Viet Nam Seafood Exporters and Producers Association(VASEP) has protested against the false and misleading information posted on the Catfish Farmers of America’s website that Vietnamese farmers raise their catfish in floating cages on the Mekong River.

Speaking at a press conference in HCM City on Tuesday, Ngo Phuoc Hau, deputy chairman of VASEP, said his organisation had asked the CFA to delete the information on www.safecatfish.com to safeguard US consumers’ legitimate rights and the good trade relations between the two countries.

“It is unfair competition by the American catfish farmers against Vietnamese pangasius farmers and processors,” Hau said.

Vietnamese farmers no longer raised pangasius on the Mekong River but in ponds under SQF1000 and other international standards, he said.

They had also developed an integrated production chain to ensure quality control and safety “from pond to dining table”, he added.

More and more pangasius farming areas in Viet Nam have received Global GAP (good agricultural practices) certificates and their products are exported to more than 120 countries and territories.

VASEP also strongly protested against the CFA’s redefinition of “catfish” to include the Vietnamese pangasius so that more restrictions can be imposed on them under US law.

Ironically, in 2003, the CFA did the exact opposite – it lobbied the Congress to declare that out of 2,000 catfish types, only the US-born family named Ictaluridae could be called catfish.

Vietnamese producers have since had to market their fish in the US by using the Vietnamese terms basa and tra. — VNS

Tags: US catfish farmers, Vietnam Seafood, Vietnam seafood sector