pe Union will provide Vietnam 1.9 million euros, or US$2.5 million, for a project to establish a sustainable Pangasius supply chain project.The $2.4-million project, set to be completed in four years from now, aims to boost production and quality of pangasius (tra fish), and reduce production costs.
The EU, Vietnam's largest export market of pangasius, will support the whole supply chain comprised of hatching, fish feed production, fish breeding and processing, and exporting.
VnExpress quoted Berenice Muraille, head of the Cooperation at the EU Delegation in Vietnam, as saying the project would help improve the competitiveness of Vietnamese pangasius in international markets.
By 2017, at least 70 percent of domestic pangasius producers and processors will operate in medium and large-scale businesses, and 30 percent of fish feed producers will adopt the Resources Efficiency and Cleaner Production measure.
In the first five months of the year, exports of pangasius dropped 6.7 percent year-on-year with $670 million.
Shipments of the fish to the EU decreased sharply by 17.6 percent compared to the same period last year.
EU member countries now prefer importing pangasius meeting Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) standards. About ten percent of Vietnam’s pangasius exports meet the standards.
