Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Ha Noi, Nov. 6 (VNA) -- Prevention of Vietnamese Basa and Tra catfish imported into the U.S. runs counter to the spirit of the bilateral trade agreement between Viet Nam and the United States, says Dr. Nguyen Thi Hong Minh, President of the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP).

In an article carried by the national daily Nhan Dan (People) today, the Vasep president notes that the approval of SA 2000 amendment article by the U.S. Senate and the approval of HR 2964 bill by the US House of Representatives are wrongful actions, which aim at protecting and giving monopoly to the U.S catfish production sector and completely run counter to the spirit of the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) between Viet Nam and the U.S.

She goes on to say that Vietnamese businesses have strictly implemented Decision 178/199/QD-TTg signed by the Prime Minister and regulations issued by the Ministry of Fisheries and the Ministry of Trade on product labelling. All Viet Nam's aquatic products for export are labelled either "Product of Viet Nam" or "Made in Viet Nam" together with scientific and commercial names of the product as regulated by the U.S. administrative agency in this domain - the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) when exported to the U.S. market.

Basa catfish is scientifically named Pangasius bocourti and commercially labelled either Basa, Bocourti, Bocourti fish, Basa catfish or Bourcourti catfish, while Tra catfish is scientifically called Pangasius hypophthalmus and commercially labelled Swai, Striped catfish and Sutchi catfish.

Dr. Minh points to the fact that the Catfish Farmers of America (CFA) has spent a lot of energy and money launching large-scale campaigns on mass media to distort the image of Vietnamese basa and tra catfish as well as to stop the import of those catfish types from Viet Nam.

These people have deliberately denied the fact that Vietnamese catfish products are of high quality, tasteful and fresh, have been exported to many countries in the world and have won increasing favour by consumers, Minh notes, adding that Vietnamese catfish is raised in an environment that meets all requirements in terms of food safety and hygiene, thus ensuring U.S. consumers' health.

Since 1998, the programme on controlling residue in raised aquatic products have been carried out in Viet Nam's catfish farms, Minh says, adding that the findings of such inspection have been regularly sent to and recognised by FDA.

The VASEP president further notes that the Viet Nam-U.S. BTA is the outcome of great joint efforts by the two countries in normalising their relations to meet the aspiration and interest of the two peoples and build confidence of the business circle in possibilities to boost bilateral trade and investment.

It is clear that the adoption of HR 2964 bill by the US House of Representatives and the approval of SA 2000 Amendment Article by the US Senate are contrary to the spirit of the BTA, Ms. Minh reaffirms.

The US and world aquatic product markets are being expanded and remain to be tapped by those businesspeople who always work creatively, apply new technology, unceasingly improve quality and reduce production cost to seize advantages and opportunities, the Vasep president notes.

"Liberalising trade" and "fair competition" are phrases frequently referred to in the U.S, and the handling of trade relations with Viet Nam should reflect these values the Vasep president concludes her article.

Some US Congressmen and the CFA blamed Vietnamese catfish for having sent domestic catfish prices downward. However, many analysts disagree with the idea that Vietnamese catfish imports, accoungting for only 2% of market, are causing catfish prices to diminish in the U.S. According to them, prices of most fisheries products have been decreasing over the past few years due to the hefty growth of the aquaculture industry. Even the price of precious fish, such as salmon, has dropped 30 percent in recent years, they also cited.--VNA