Tra fish farmers’ profits to be assured

Farmers raising Tra fish will be assured of a profit margin of at least 5%, as mentioned in a draft decree that will undergo final assessment in a seminar to be held on Wednesday by Vietnam Fisheries Society, or Vinafis.

Nguyen Viet Thang, chairman of Vinafis, told the Daily that the meeting would focus on a proposal to assure a minimum profit of 5% for Tra fish farmers. Representatives of the Directorate of Fisheries and Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) would join the meeting.

The draft decree will then be submitted to the Government for approval, he said.

Price fluctuations have made deep cuts into farmers’ profits or even pushed them to losses, discouraging them to continue their farming.

However, Thang said this profit margin of 5% in reality was not attractive enough for farmers as current interest rates at banks were high, at about 18-20%.

The seminar on Wednesday will also scrutinize other important provisions in the draft decree, including the requirement that fish processors must ensure 50% of materials for their own processing compared to 30% in previous regulations.

Other issues to be tabled include farming outside zoning plans.

Thang objected to a clause that requires farming areas to be inside zoning plans announced by provincial authorities. “Any farmers or firms meeting farming conditions must be allowed to raise fish as authorities should not ban people from making profits,” he said.

It was not a good idea when people having capital and farming techniques were not allowed to farm, he added.

If the decree still retains this provision on zoning plans for Tra fish farming, farmers should be spared a couple of years to shift to other types of fisheries. Besides, authorities should offer some supporting policies to farmers during the process, Thang said.

Tags: tra fish