(pangasius-vietnam.com) On December 19th, 2013, the conference titled “Developing markets and enhancing value-added pangasius products in Mekong Delta” will be held by Vietnam Pangasius Association in cooperation with Vietnam International Arbitration Centre (VIAC) in Can Tho City.
The conference will hear insights on the two key issues: strengthening the integrated value chain in Vietnam pangasius industry and building brand for Vietnam pangasius and value-added products.
The conference is attended by 200 representatives from leading pangasius companies, other stakeholders in the industry, banks, software companies, experts from nutrition and quality management sector, feed suppliers and logistics services companies. The conference’s objective is to discuss problems in the pangasius industry to find measures to enhance the products quality and the image of Vietnam pangasius in the global market.
With an annual revenue of over US$1 billion, pangasius has been considered as a key business sector of Vietnam, especially in Mekong Delta – home to pangasius production. According to Vietnam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), lands for pangasius production in Mekong Delta were 5,910 hectares in 2012. The industry is expected to total 13,000 hectares for fish farming by 2020.
In 2012, Vietnamese pangasius products were exported to 133 countries and territories for total of US$1.74 billion. So far, Vietnam has numbered 136 pangasius exporters, but only five of them have total production capacity of over 100 MT per day. Other ten companies have capacity of about 100 MT per day. The rest was processors with low production capacity.
At present, players in the export-driven pangasius industry have still focus on the export price and do not invest much in improving the quality and brands for fish products. There has not been common standards for exported pangasius products. The management of fish farming area is also a concern.
To drive the pangasius industry towards sustainable development, participants to the conference give in-depth analyses on the sector in order to evaluate production capacity and fish aquaculture management system; apply modern technologies in farming and processing activities; create new line of pangasius products; as well as set measures to protect Vietnamese companies against trade disputes.