The first dialogue about global catfish in Vietnam

For the first time, the US-based International Fund for Nature Protection (WWF) intends to organize an international dialogue on catfish to ensure the sustainable development of the fisheries sector.

The dialogue on international catfish is expected to take place from September 26-27, in Ho Chi Minh City with the participation of countries' producers, business, research and government officials.

The main purpose of the dialogue, according to Dr. Flavio Corsin - WWF expert will conduct the dialogue, is to build the first international standard for catfish, the most widely-produced product group in Vietnam.

Fishermen in northern Thailand have caught a catfish (residing in the Mekong River) that is 2.7 meters long and weighs 293 kg.

That set of standards will be designed on the basis of identifying 6-8 environmental and social impacts that catfish industry, mainly catfish and basa, cause.

Many experts agreed that the initiation of this international dialogue brought many opportunities for domestic catfish producers to promote their image to the major markets of the US and Europe. However, this dialogue is also a great pressure to force domestic manufacturers to change breeding and processing technology, which is a big disadvantage for the Vietnamese side in competition in the marketplace.

The organizers of the dialogue evaluated Vietnam to account for 90% of the catfish market. According to WWF, Vietnam's tra and basa fish production this year is nearly one million tons.

Meanwhile, global catfish production, still according to WWF and taken from data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), was only 10,000 tons in 1995 and 440,000 tons in 2005. Current catfish It is sold in more than 80 countries, mainly in the form of white files, ie, thinly sliced ​​fish meat slices.

America used to be the main market of tra and basa fish. But, WWF said that the US currently accounts for only 10% instead of 80% of the market. Meanwhile, the European Union quickly expanded its market to consume two main products from Vietnam up to 50%.