‘Tra’ or ‘catfish’? Let’s not waste time arguing: MARD
US import policies are giving Vietnam’s catfish growers, and also Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat in his capacity as head of the Mekong Delta Steering Committee for Tra Fish Production and Consumption, a big headache. Phat spoke to a newspaper reporter on his return from a trip to negotiate with officials of the US Government, including Vilsack.
Phat said Vietnam must keep a close eye on the US market, aiming for timely and reasonable decisions.
“The US Government has approved a bill which instructs the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to strictly control ‘catfish’ product quality and production. However, USDA has not yet decided if Vietnam’s tra fish is to be legally considered as catfish,” Phat said.
The Vietnamese fish raisers have reason to think the Americans are inconsistent. In a famous case in 2002, at the request of American catfish farmers, the US decided that Vietnam’s tra cannot be exported to the US under the name of ‘catfish’, but it must be exported under another name, such as ‘tra’ or ‘pangasius’. Now they are insisting on naming Vietnam’s tra as catfish again.
Do you think that we need to struggle against the US inconsistent policies?
Minister Cao Duc Phat: We should not keep arguing this way. If we debate about the name, the US may say that in the past they did not call the fish ‘catfish’ but now they do. We need to struggle to protect our standpoint based on scientific proofs.
I once took an US official to the tra farming area and the official admitted that tra has been farmed in Vietnam in a safe way. However, we need to stick to facts when we negotiate with the US.
For example, if we say that the water we use to farm fish is safe and unpolluted, we need to show proof. We need to set up observation systems and update information and then show the figures and information to the whole world.
What is the biggest issue now for tra products?
Minister Phat: [To meet the American requirements], we must ensure the food safety. The processes of producing, processing and packaging need to establish uniform standards. Tra farmers also must register their information to get bar codes which allow origin to be traced. Fish breeders, feed for fish and the environment all need to have high quality to ensure the high quality of products.
Tra farming is a business field that has certain conditions. We need to take actions to settle the current problem that processing companies do not have information about production, while farmers do not have information about the market.
In summary, we need to reogranise our production and consumption process. Establishments that violate laws must be heavily punished. Institutions and individuals that pollute the environment must be punished or even forced to shut down. Once everything is okay, will the minister of agriculture be able to speak forcefully for tra farmers in negotiations.
It seems that we have been passive in advertising our products, protecting our benefit and expanding the market. . .
Minister Phat: It is true that we have been passive in dealing with the problems. We only tried to explain when importers complained about quality. Meanwhile, enterprises have been following a ‘mechanical process’ while attending international trade fairs: officials simply visit trade fairs in the first day, meet foreign partners in the second day, attend seminars and then leave.
We need to promote trade in a more methodical way with close cooperation among ministries and branches. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has done well in dealing with Russia’s market. When Moscow halted imports of tra fish from Vietnam, saying it would negotiate with one partner only, the ministry set up a ‘steering committee on exporting tra fish to Russia.’ That committee is in charge of negotiating with Russia, which has opened its door again to Vietnam’s tra exports.
It is clear that there are many things we must do to raise the quality of tra products. What will we do right now?
Minister Phat: Within 90 days, we will set up inspection teams to examine the quality of fish breeding, feed production, veterinary medicine and processing workshops. It is also necessary to find out if loans under the macroeconomic demand stimulus policy are reaching the farmers or not.
It seems that small farmers, who have lost heavily on previous crops, are not eligible for borrowing new loans. Therefore, they cannot access the preferential loans . . . .
Local authorities need to reckon up how many small farmers, how many borrowers are in debt and suggest measures to deal with the problem. We need to put forward detailed measures, not just mention vague ideas.
MARD on October 17, 2008 approved a plan for development of tra production and consumption in Mekong Delta from 2010 to 2020. However, some localities still do not know exactly about their fish farming areas.
One of the immediate tasks is to check the fish farming area programs. We need to develop farming according to a plan that effectively protects the environment.
Local authorities need to draw up detailed farming programs, on which basis infrastructure projects will be defined. The Government has given priority to investment in infrastructure in tra farming areas. It is expected that investment in 6,000 hectares of fish farming can result in the export sales of $1.5 billion a year.
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In 2002, the US decided that Vietnam’s tra could not be exported to the US as ‘catfish’ because American catfish producers did not want this. However, Vietnam’s tra still has been favoured by US consumers.
In 2003, the US began imposing an anti-dumping tax rate of 64 percent on Vietnam’s tra. However, despite the tariff, Vietnam’s tra fish still flowed to the US. In 2008, the US Congress approved a new law that put catfish under the control of the US Department of Agriculture. The production process is considered the weak point of Vietnam’s tra because of its rapid growth, , small scale farming and the lack of overall programming.
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