It is no doubt that the economic crisis has engulfed all major industry of the world. Southeast Asian seafood industry is also facing the same scenario and thus contemplating to explore new markets and slash prices. Tran Thien Hai, chairman of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), said that they should acknowledge and prepare for the challenges this year.
Seafood exports from Vietnam increased 20 percent in 2008 to $4.5 billion, but are expected to plunge by nearly one-third this year. Vietnamese producers opined that price reductions may be necessary because of increased competition in the region, but the rising cost of fish feed has prevented that. The industry is asking for cut of import tax.
The shrimp farmers of Bangladesh are also suffering the same fate. They said that buyers in the United States and Europe are pressing them to reduce prices. Kazi Belayet Hossain, president of Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association, explained that after making a shipment to USA the buyer asked me to renegotiate the price, without which he refused to receive the goods.
