Tra fish export price forecast to surge

In the first two months of the year, China was Vietnam’s third biggest tra fish importer, following the US and the EU, with an increase of 33.3% in export value from the same period last year, accounting for 11.5% of the total tra fish exports.

The export price in the US is also expected to rise at the same rate, partly due to a rise in expenditures following recently approved inspection regulations issued by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

In the reviewed period, Vietnam saw a year-on-year increase of 8.3% in its tra fish export value, while output dropped 17% from the same period last year to 114,000 tonnes, the association said.

Material output recorded a year-on-year decrease of 40%, VASEP Vice President Duong Ngoc Minh said, adding that the trend will continue.

The limited supply can only meet the demand of the three key import markets – the US , the EU and China , Minh added.

Minh pointed to the cause of the drop in tra fish supplies, saying that many farmers and households stopped raising tra fish in July last year and shifted to other crops with higher domestic value.

Minh also called on the Government to offer incentives to the sector to ensure production in 2017.

The association plans to develop a number of measures and projects to improve tra fish quality and ensure sustainable production, according to Minh.

The efforts include ranking the sector’s enterprises, mapping out tra fish raising areas, restructuring the sector in the Mekong Delta and setting up an online Mekong Fish Market, Minh said.

According to the association, in 2015 the total tra fish export value reached US$1.6 billion, 10% lower than in 2014.