Justice for Vietnamese fish

By labeling the imported Vietnamese fish as “basa”, “tra”, “swai” or “catfish” this still does not affect the good quality of fish from the Mekong Delta region. If the new label is adopted or Vietnamese fish imports are put under stricter control, the quality of Vietnamese tra and basa catfish will be the same.

In 2002, the US accused Vietnam of dumping catfish on its market. With pressures from the US catfish industry the US Congress passed a law preventing the imported fish from being labeled as catfish. US legislators said that even though Vietnamese tra and basa are also catfish, the word catfish does describe every kind of catfish in general and only species from the family Ictaluridae can be sold as catfish. By using the name “basa catfish”, Vietnam is enjoying marketing gains made by the US catfish industry, they said.

In fact, Vietnam began to export its basa and tra catfish to the US in 1996. Its exports of frozen fillets increased sharply from 260 tonnes to nearly 8,000 tonnes in late 2001. This amazing success led US fish farmers to think that Vietnam was enjoying the benefits of the US catfish industry after using the name “basa catfish”. In defiance of Vietnam’s reaction, the US Congress imposed a temporary ban saying only the US fish are called “catfish” while Vietnamese fish must be called “tra” or “basa”.

However, the US is now changing tune to demand labeling the Vietnamese tra and basa as “catfish”. The same story was repeated as in 2002. The imported tra and basa continued to be much sought after in the US, even though they were not called their right name. Then, the US decided to impose a high anti-dumping tax rate of 64 percent on the imported Vietnamese tra and basa, which accounted for around 5 percent of the US market share at the time.

Ironically, the erroneous US imposition of high anti-dumping tax rates has made Vietnamese tra and basa become more popular and increase their market share in many other markets. As a result, Vietnam’s tra and basa output and processing capacity in 2008 increased six-fold over 2002 to earn an export turnover of nearly US$4 billion.

Now, seven years later the US argued that Vietnamese tra and basa are not “swai” but “catfish”. This means the imported tra and basa will be strictly supervised by the US and Vietnam must meet the similar terms of US law concerning performance capacity and production processes. In fact, such a move aimed at protecting US fish farmers and limiting the volume of Vietnamese tra and basa products imported into the US is not fair on US consumers. They will have no choice but to purchase products at higher prices. Vietnamese tra and basa catfish products are highly favoured by US customers thanks to their high quality and cheap prices.

However, if the labeling of tra and basa as catfish is approved, Vietnamese exporters will have to put a great deal of energy and money into meeting the strict requirements of the US Department of Agriculture.

Currently, Vietnam has dozens of businesses, which meet US requirements to export their products at zero tax rates. The US has conducted several surveys on Vietnamese fish breeding areas and has confirmed that production processes are safe. However, the country needs more scientific data to prove this. It is necessary for Vietnam to establish a monitoring system to collect more information and publicise production processes, which meet food hygiene and safety regulations and product code. In short, re-organising production and consumption will increase the value of tra and basa catfish not only in the US but also in other markets.

Meeting the strict regulations will prove the quality of Vietnamese fish. It can be said that the tra and basa catfish are like manna from heaven to the Mekong Delta region. Vietnam’s annual export earnings from 6,000ha of tra and basa breeding areas are estimated at around US$1.5 billion. Therefore, Vietnam must protect its tra and basa brand name at any cost to confirm that its fish are of high quality.