Econ
Two more Vietnamese catfish exporters approved for US market
The National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department announced that two more Vietnamese catfish exporters are now eligible to ship their products to the US, pushing the total number of eligible firms to 60.
Proccessing catfish for export
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The two new firms are Hua Heong Food Industries Vietnam and Cuu Long Fish Import-Export Corporation. The National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department asked the two firms to actively check its catfish products to ensure requirements of the US Food Safety and Inspection Service are met.
In addition, firms must register to get certificates for seafood exports at one of the NAFIQAD branches, which was compulsory to export catfish to the United States. From the beginning of October, certification for seafood exports will be conducted via the national window system.
According to The National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department, the United States will inspect food hygiene and safety of catfish products exported from Vietnam to the United States, especially tra and basa fish, from July 7 to October 15.
Recently The National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department asked firms which have never exported catfish to the United States to stop registering for exporting to this market. It said the United States would not permit new exporters with no previous experience in exporting catfish to the country during the period of evaluating the food safety supervision system of Vietnam on tra fish.
According to the Vietnam Seafood Exporters and Processors, the United States is the largest importer of Vietnamese tra fish, with an export value of nearly 255 million USD in the first eight months of this year, rising by 22.4 percent over the same period last year.
The United States was followed by the European Union markets, with export revenue of more than 177 million USD. In the first eight months of this year, Vietnam earned 1.1 billion USD from exporting tra fish, representing a rise of six percent against the same period last year.
The association expects tra fish exports to maintain the growth rate in the remaining months of this year and reach revenue of 1.65 billion USD for the full year. The US is the biggest import market for Vietnamese Tra fish with a stable demand and good prices. As of May 15, Vietnam shipped 130 million USD worth of Tra fish to the US, up 7.6 percent compared to the same period last year. The export volume is expected to see a year-on-year increase of between 10 and 15 percent in the next quarter.
