Tra fish exports start leaping

Exports of Vietnamese tra catfish have recorded a marked recovery with export volume surging to most export markets in the first 10 months of 2009, according to the Association of Seafood Exports and Processors (VASEP).

The United States continued to be Viet Nam’s key importer of tra fish with purchases worth US$15.5 million in October alone, up 2.5 times compared with the same period last year, VASEP said.

The figure brought the US-bound export value of tra fish for the first 10 months of this year to $111 million, 71 per cent higher than the same period last year. Tra export value to the US accounted for 10 per cent the country’s total export earnings from the fish.

VASEP predicted that tra exports to the US would face many difficulties after the Farm Bill 2008 becomes effective next year. The association therefore called on Vietnamese seafood exporters to increase the quality of tra fish exports to meet the market’s requests on technology and food hygiene and safety.

Tra fish exports to Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain also showed signs of recovery in October, VASEP said, but adding that downward world export prices had eaten into Viet Nam’s earnings from tra fish.

Despite a strong recovery in tra fish exports to Spain, Viet Nam’s second largest importer of the product with a 31.7 per cent year-on-year rise in volume in October, Spain-bound tra exports value in the January-October period barely reached $104 million, down 0.8 per cent from a year ago.

Exports to that market were expected to increase by the end of this year, said the association.

Exports of the fish to the EU also dropped nearly 7 per cent to $454 million while earnings from Russia and Ukraine – Viet Nam’s two key markets in 2008, plunged 95 per cent and over 82 per cent, respectively.

According to VASEP, Viet Nam exported 500,000 tonnes of tra fish in the first 10 months of this year, earning $1.12 billion, 10.3 per cent lower in value than the same period of last year.

Though seeing a reduction in the first 10 months, VASEP still expected the exports of that product to increase in the last two months of this year because the demand for tra fish in the world market would increase for the Christmas and New Year holiday, said Nguyen Huu Dung, VASEP deputy chairman.

With expected average export value for tra and basa fish in the last two months of $120 million each, the total tra and basa fish export value is expected to earn $1.3 billion for this year, a slight reduction against the total of $1.4 billion in 2008.

VietNamNet/VNS

Tags: Vietnam Tra fish exports