The seafood industry needs all stakeholders to act together to overcome the crisis. Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Luong Le Phuong said that this is vital for seafood companies as well as aquaculture farmers to deal with difficulties caused by the ongoing global economic downturn. He added that the cooperative effort must take place in all aspects of seafood production and trading.
According to Phuong the State must cooperate with the associations of fisheries enterprises while seafood processing and export enterprises need to cooperate with farmers. He opined that seafood processors and exporters should also work together and stressed the need for Vietnamese seafood exporters to establish close ties with importers to ensure market stability.
It is informed that all these cooperative relationships would set up a community of solidarity in the local fisheries sector, thus improving the competitiveness of Vietnamese seafood products. Phuong called for the mass media, public opinion, local administrations and seafood enterprises to act jointly in stopping such practices and ensure the prestige of Vietnamese seafood in international markets.
The global financial crisis has forced many countries that are major importers of Vietnamese seafood products to tighten their belts, in the process cutting imports of many commodities, including Vietnamese seafood. A surplus of Tra catfish early last year that forced hundreds of local breeders to sell their fresh fish at a loss prompted many to give up cultivation, resulting in irregular supply of raw material for seafood processing.
