(VOVworld) – Vietnam is one of the world’s leading ‘tra’ fish exporters. But recent global changes together with domestic economic difficulties have destabilized the sector unstable. Vietnam has set out to strengthen management activities and make adjustments to protect farmers and businesses and improve product quality.

Tra fish is one of Vietnam’s leading hard currency earners. Last year tra exports earned 1.8 billion USD and by the end of April this year, had earned 546 million USD. Vietnamese tra fish is now available in 149 countries and territories and accounts for 26% of Vietnam’s total seafood export value.

Tra fish harvesting in Thot Not district, Can Tho City. (tintucmientay.com.vn)

But tra fish production is currently facing a slowdown in traditional import markets and severe competition in key markets like the US and the EU, causing losses for Vietnamese tra fish exporters.

To deal with the situation, Vietnam has outlined a long-term development strategy with a focus on improving quality, certifying origin, and conforming to food hygiene, safety, and environmental protection standards. Domestically, a series of measures have been implemented to reform tra fish production, and processing.  One priority is to improve links between regions and between enterprises and farmers. Vo Hung Dung, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), said: “the government has issued a resolution to meet Vietnam Good Agricultural Practice (VIET GAP) and Global Good Agricultural Practice (GlobalGAP) standards. In the future, new standards will be created to improve tra fish farming zones. The resolution sets conditions under which quality standards should match the requirements of import markets.”

Tra fish fillets are frozen before packaging for exports.

At a recent working session, the Central Economics Committee and the Steering Committee for the South-West region underscored the significance of restructuring the tra fish sector in Mekong Delta provinces. Le Vinh Tan, Deputy Head of the Central Economics Committee, said: “Restructuring should follow market rules. The market mechanism now only accepts businesses which abide by the regulations.”

The Prime Minister has approved a project to develop a sustainable supply chain for the Tra and Basa fish industry. The project, funded by the European Union under its Switch-Asia network, aims to help Vietnam’s pangasius industry increase its competitiveness in the global market. The EU will directly support the entire supply chain from raising fingerlings and producing cattle-feed to bringing tra fish to consumers. The EU is Vietnam’s largest tra fish market. The project, implemented over the next four years, will focus on increasing production, improving product quality, and reducing environmental impacts and production costs.