Eduardo Lazo, business development manager of Vitarich Corporation, informed that big opportunities lies for hundreds of Filipino fishpond owners, new investors and fishing firms all over the country who have decided to start full-scale commercial production of “Pangasius” catfish now in big demand in Europe, US and Russia.
“Pangasius” catfish is a fresh water fish originating from Vietnam, the world’s biggest producer and exporter, which cultivates and grows the fish in large commercial fishponds and distributes them to both domestic and export markets. In Philippines Vitarich is one of the biggest feed millers, pioneered the commercial growing of this fresh water fish species in the country. It is told that Vitrarich has set up an integrated system from breeding all the way to marketing together with its business partners.
According to Lazo Philippine-grown “Pangasius” catfish and its end-product fillet steaks might turn out to be of much better quality because its Vietnam counterpart is coping with a bad track record and poor image in the US market. He added that some Vietnam producers were also accused for false declaration of labels and weights.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Merly Cruz explained that the Philippines has all the advantages of getting a good share of the global market for Pangasius catfish. He said that the country has the best locations for this type of new industry. Our country is most suitable for catfish growing and farming. He also told that there is a big domestic market for Pangasius catfish.
