Agifish gets more cash after reaching int'l standards

The An Giang Fisheries Export and Import Joint Stock Company (Agifish) has record rapid growth in recent years thanks largely to its application of internationally recognised food hygiene and safety standards. Primarily a catfish processor, Agifish's products accounted for 70 percent of Viet Nam's total seafood export to the US before the anti-dumping taxes were applied to the country's exporters. Vo Phuoc Hung, an official from Agifish, said the company continues to be one of the top catfish exporters in the country and has earned a foothold in giant markets like Western Europe, Russia, Asia, and Australia. "Quality and food hygiene and safety were the top priorities of the company's development strategy in retaining our market share, " said Hung. Agifish was one of the first businesses to establish a close connection between material areas and processing factories. Operating a safe aquaculture complex with a capacity of 70,000 tonnes per year, the company is able to self-supply close to 70 percent of its material demands. "We buy the remaining materials from farmers but these materials must undergo careful examination before being processed," said Phan Cong Bang, Head of the company's Technology Department. Agifish is one example of 400 seafood exporters nationwide that are striving to penetrate further into the world market by ensuring product quality and food hygiene and safety. According to Nguyen Tu Cuong, Director of the National Fisheries Assurance and Veterinary Directorate (Nafiquaved), in addition to strict requirements for product quality, many foreign markets also regularly change food hygiene and safety standards, causing difficulties for local businesses. A series of foreign importers have arrived in Viet Nam recently to check fish raising facilities and test aquatic products on the spot instead of checking batches of imported products only. Seafood importers from Russia, for instance, have made three trips to Viet Nam this year alone in order to inspect products destined for export to Russia. Russian Federal Agency of Vetarinary and Phytosanitary (VPSS) left the country impressed and promptly awarded 13 businesses export licences to the market, including Agifish. Japan - one of the world's most fastidious customers - is also satisfied with Vietnamese seafood businesses in all production stages, from raising, collecting materials to processing after a series of inspections, according to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Viet Thang. Viet Nam has also earned a foothold in the tough European Union. The number of Vietnamese seafood exporters shipping to the EU has increased rapidly each year, amounting to 245 at present. Viet Nam's seafood export revenues have drawn in 2.34 billion USD over the past eight months of the year, becoming one of the world's top ten seafood exporters in terms of value. Ensuring quality an d food hygiene and safety is a focus of the Vietnamese fisheries sector in order to f ulfill its target of exporting between 4-4.5 billion USD worth of seafood by 2010, according to Deputy Minister Thang.