Farmers harvest tra fish at Tan Thanh fish farm cooperative in Tan Hoi Commune, Vinh Long City, Vinh Long Province (Photo: VNA)HCM City (VNA) - Incorrect newsbroadcast by overseas media can hurt exports of tra fish thisyear, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Producers and Exporters (VASEP) hassaid.
Three weeks ago, Spanish commercial televisionchannel Cuatro broadcast incorrect and defamatory information on tra fishbred in the Cuu Long (Mekong) River, said VASEP General Secretary Truong DinhHoe.
According to the Cuatro report, tra fishis being raised in unclean cages and fed with non-industrialised feed like deadfish and other food waste. The report went on to charge that this was thereason for low prices of Vietnamese tra fish. Five days later,the station continued to broadcast wrong information about the breedingof tra fish in the country, VASEP said.
After receiving information about the Cuatroreport, VASEP sent a letter to the local media, rejecting it in its entirety,stressing that Vietnam’s tra fish production was hygienic andsafe to consume.
Hoe said that demand for Vietnamese tra fishhad declined earlier following damaging media reports.
In 2016, the price of tra fishin the European Union market kept falling and damaged Vietnam’s tra fishexport value, despite the country’s export volume almost matching that of theprevious year.
In some cases, a lot of European sellersmixed tra fish fillet with other products to increase theirselling prices, Hòe said.
Such factors would likely have a negative impacton Vietnam’s tra fish exports in 2017 because “we are livingin the age of internet and social networks, which are powerful in spreading thenews,” he added.
According to the VASEP, the tra fishindustry in Vietnam has improved its production process and quality management.It has also improved its management of environmental impacts as well asensuring clear origins of seafood material, especially in the supply chaincomprising breed suppliers, feed factories, fish farms and processingfactories. The final products are stored in modern freezing warehouses beforebeing exported to international markets.
In addition, many fish farms have acquiredinternational certification for good raising practices including BestAquaculture Practices (BAP) and GlobalGap. In order to obtain theserecognitions, the fish farms have to be built and operate strictly on criteriaof quality, origin traceability and social responsibility.
These facts are strong, reliable evidence of thesafety and sustainability of Vietnamese tra fish production, Hoesaid.
Several enterprises have said that theGovernment and concerned agencies need to respond immediately to the spread ofwrong information that is hurting the image of Vietnamese tra fish.
Nguyen Ngo Vi Tam, Director General of Vinh HoanCorporation, one of the largest tra fish exporters in Vietnam,said Vietnamese tra fish had become popular in the world andwas well received in many markets.
However, the image of Vietnamese tra fishwas not good in some places in terms of food safety and breeding methods. It isnot just in Spain, the smearing of Vietnamese tra fishproducts had happened in about 10 countries, including Australia, Italy, Germanyand France, he added.-VNA
Three weeks ago, Spanish commercial televisionchannel Cuatro broadcast incorrect and defamatory information on tra fishbred in the Cuu Long (Mekong) River, said VASEP General Secretary Truong DinhHoe.
According to the Cuatro report, tra fishis being raised in unclean cages and fed with non-industrialised feed like deadfish and other food waste. The report went on to charge that this was thereason for low prices of Vietnamese tra fish. Five days later,the station continued to broadcast wrong information about the breedingof tra fish in the country, VASEP said.
After receiving information about the Cuatroreport, VASEP sent a letter to the local media, rejecting it in its entirety,stressing that Vietnam’s tra fish production was hygienic andsafe to consume.
Hoe said that demand for Vietnamese tra fishhad declined earlier following damaging media reports.
In 2016, the price of tra fishin the European Union market kept falling and damaged Vietnam’s tra fishexport value, despite the country’s export volume almost matching that of theprevious year.
In some cases, a lot of European sellersmixed tra fish fillet with other products to increase theirselling prices, Hòe said.
Such factors would likely have a negative impacton Vietnam’s tra fish exports in 2017 because “we are livingin the age of internet and social networks, which are powerful in spreading thenews,” he added.
According to the VASEP, the tra fishindustry in Vietnam has improved its production process and quality management.It has also improved its management of environmental impacts as well asensuring clear origins of seafood material, especially in the supply chaincomprising breed suppliers, feed factories, fish farms and processingfactories. The final products are stored in modern freezing warehouses beforebeing exported to international markets.
In addition, many fish farms have acquiredinternational certification for good raising practices including BestAquaculture Practices (BAP) and GlobalGap. In order to obtain theserecognitions, the fish farms have to be built and operate strictly on criteriaof quality, origin traceability and social responsibility.
These facts are strong, reliable evidence of thesafety and sustainability of Vietnamese tra fish production, Hoesaid.
Several enterprises have said that theGovernment and concerned agencies need to respond immediately to the spread ofwrong information that is hurting the image of Vietnamese tra fish.
Nguyen Ngo Vi Tam, Director General of Vinh HoanCorporation, one of the largest tra fish exporters in Vietnam,said Vietnamese tra fish had become popular in the world andwas well received in many markets.
However, the image of Vietnamese tra fishwas not good in some places in terms of food safety and breeding methods. It isnot just in Spain, the smearing of Vietnamese tra fishproducts had happened in about 10 countries, including Australia, Italy, Germanyand France, he added.-VNA
VNA
