Companies in the Mekong Delta that export cá tra, commonly known as catfish, are worried that new import regulations set by the United States will adversely impact their business.
VietnamNet reports that the US Farm Bill will likely reclassify cá tra, which brought in export turnover of US$1.7 billion for Vietnam last year, thus subjecting exports of the marine product to the US to more stringent rules.
Accordingly, cá tra would be labeled catfish by the United States States Department of Agriculture (USDA) instead of pangasius. Under the Farm Bill, cá tra production companies would have to use treated water, not river water, when transporting fish to processing factories by boat, the news source shares.
Additionally, any water used during this transportation phase would need to be collected for treatment after the fish are delivered to a factory. Such regulations would be difficult for Vietnamese companies to meet. The law would also subject 100% of Vietnam's cá tra export consignments to testing by the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service.
Vietnam sees the US as a promising market for these fish, as the country accounted for 23% of such exports last year, followed by China and Hong Kong at 17% each. Exports to the European Union and other Southeast Asian nations have dropped in the meantime.
VietnamNet shares that the Vietnam Pangasius Association fears that the new regulations would prevent the industry from maintaining its growth, while fish exporters are waiting to sign new contracts for farms until the rules are clear.
In response, Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) will step up lobbying of American officials in an effort to convince them such strict monitoring is expensive and unnecessary.
Meanwhile Vu Van Tam, MARD's deputy minister, told the news source: "Vietnam may sue the US at [the] WTO (World Trade Organization) if the Farm Bill affects Vietnam's export (sic)."
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