CAN THO: Viet Nam’s tra fish exports to China and Hong Kong (China) recorded strong growth in the first 10 months of this year, hitting US$122 million, representing a year-on-year increase of nearly 50 per cent.
With this pace, it is forecast that China will become one of the three largest importers of Vietnamese tra fish apart from the US and Europe, said Deputy Chairman and General Secretary of the Viet Nam Pangasius Association Vo Hung Dung.
In the January-October period, Viet Nam’s tra fish export value reached over $1.2 billion, 9.6 per cent lower than that of the same period last year due to tumble in shipments to the US and Europe.
According to Dung, most tra fish exports to China are through cross-border trade, which do not require strict quality standards. But when the exports rise, the country is expected to apply various regulations to the product, he said, urging domestic exporters to pay due attention to factors related to quality standards and payment safety when selling to China.
The association will work to promote aquaculture models under the Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices (VietGAP) standards and strictly implement Decree No 36/2014/ND-CP on growing, processing and exporting catfish, towards ensuring quality and increasing competitiveness of tra fish products in new markets.
Viet Nam’s tra fish products have been sold in 113 countries and territories worldwide. Tra fish export volume and value in new markets such as China, Brazil and Mexico have been rising, while those in traditional markets have been slowing.
