Banks, processors bail out catfish growers

Tra catfish exporters hope to buy up all remaining overstock of the fish by the end of the month. They are responding to a direction by the Government in June concerned that farmers were having trouble selling the fish.

Luong Le Phuong, deputy minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, confirmed that banks lent VND1.139 trillion (US$69 million) to processors to buy all tra catfish from farmers that weighed more than 1kg.

By July 20, the volume of extra tra stock fell to 120,000 tonnes from 170,000 tonnes, he said.

Phuong said the volume fell to 90,000 tonnes by mid-August, and was expected to all sold by the end of this month. The Government had encouraged exporters to buy all suitable tra catfish in stock.

Unfortunately, this year's overstock has brought the price down to dangerous lows. The purchasing price was VND13,000-14,000 (79-85 US cents) per kg, lower than the production cost of VND15,000-16,000 per kg.

The fear now is that with little profit to be had, farmers will be reluctant to farm catfish, endangering next year's supply.

Huynh The Nang, vice chairman of An Giang People's Committee, said the low selling price and difficulty in getting loans had discouraged farmers.

Some farmers have even sold fish they have yet to harvest so that they can buy fish-feed.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has submitted to the Government a plan to develop tra and basa production over the long term, to ensure a balance of the ecosystem in Tien River and Hau River.

The plan to develop tra and basa production comes with conditions on farming and processing, Phuong said. Under the plan submitted to the Government, the ministry expects to control the breeding of tra and basa catfish, to ensure stock doesn't fall short in future, he said.

Nguyen Huu Dung, deputy chairman of the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP), was also worried about next year's stock.

VASEP said that if the situation continued, tra and basa processing and exporting enterprises will likely to face a lack of supply by the end of this year.

To improve effectiveness of tra and basa farming and control of exported tra products, the National Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (NAFIQAD) has asked tra processors and exporters to report on their capacity to keep frozen material and process export products.

Cao Duc Phat, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, has asked VASEP and relevant agencies to produce a periodical bulletin on the market for tra farmers and processors.

The bulletin should help them better co-ordinate production and processing for export.

The minister has entrusted the Seafood Researching Institute 2 to produce and provide quality tra parent varieties for farmers.

In the first seven months of the year, Viet Nam gained $762.79 million from tra and basa export or 31.9% of the national total seafood export value, VASEP said.

Phuong said European countries and other developed countries usually increase consumption of tra and basa from the end of September to early October.

Tra and basa exporters in Viet Nam should take the opportunity to expand their business in those markets, he said.

The ministry forecasts that Viet Nam will export an average of $100 million worth of tra and basa a month starting in August and earn $1.2 million from tra and basa exports this year, he said. (VNS)