Vietnamese exports of pangasius are on the rise, with volumes in Mekong Delta increasing by nearly a fifth to more than 300,000 metric tons in the first half of 2010.
Now a growing number of Vietnamese producers and exporters in Mekong Delta are applying for quality certificates such as EuroGap, GlobalGap and HACCP to reach markets such as the United States, the European Union and Japan, the Saigon Times Daily reports.
These include Vinh Hoan Corp, Vietnam’s biggest pangasius exporter, which received the GlobalGap certificate by Bureau Veritas Certification for its 40- hectare fish farm in Dong Thap Province.
Vinh Hoan is the latest pangasius exporter to receive the certificate since NTCA Corp and shrimp exporter Minh Phu Corp were certified, says the Saigon Times.
Vinh Hoan said it now expects to build up its export capacity and raise the average value of its pangasius by 10 percent to 20 percent.
After its certification, the group signed a contract to provide 120 metric tons of pangasius to a European customer.
Expanding down the supply chain
Producers are also increasingly starting to farm their own fish to better control the quality, says Ngo Phuoc Hau, who chairs the Fresh Water Fish Committee under the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
And this is just the beginning, Hau says. Over time the producers will have to develop “systematic sales strategy about brand-building, marketing and distribution, to build brand names for seafood products,” he tells the daily.
Vietnam’s government recently identified pangasius as a key export and approved a $42 million (€32.6 million) project to develop the production and sales of the fish in Mekong Delta till 2020.
This year, total output is also expected to increase to 1.5 million metric tons, valued at $1.5 billion (€1.2 billion).
Along with shrimp, pangasius accounts for 70 percent of total Vietnamese seafood exports (expected to top $4.7 billion (€3.7 billion) in 2010, up 6.8 percent from last year). (Intrafish)