Pangasius before the opportunity to recover in the US

(12/27/2019 12:00:00 AM)

The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has just announced the preliminary decision of the 15th anti-dumping duty (CBPG) review of Vietnamese pangasius products. Accordingly, Vietnam's pangasius exports to the US are subject to 0% tax.

Farmers optimistic

Mr. Tran Cong Minh, a long-term Pangasius farming household in Tan Loc ward, Thot Not district (Can Tho city), said that in the coming time, Pangasius export to America will be more convenient when the tax rate is 0%. According to Mr. Minh, over time, farmers and businesses (DN) have many difficulties when Pangasius products of Vietnam are subject to the US antidumping tax. Mr. Nguyen Huu Nguyen - Director of Pangasius farming cooperative in Chau Phu district, An Giang province - recognized that if the US applied the 0% antidumping tax then the pangasius farmers would benefit because businesses can buy raw materials at a higher price to export processing.

Ms. Vo Thi Thanh Van - Deputy Director of An Giang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that raw material Pangasius market is showing signs of recovery, partly because basic tax information will be zero. %; The other part is due to the official policy of promoting Chinese trade. An Giang currently has 17 seafood processing factories operating with a total capacity of 230,000 tons / year. Pangasius export output in the first 9 months reached 70,000 tons, equivalent to 168 million USD, up 4.81% in volume and 4.65% in turnover.

According to Ms. Van, Pangasius is the main aquatic product in the project of restructuring agricultural sector of An Giang province until 2020. Therefore, An Giang has policies to attract investment, support to create land fund for enterprises. inside and outside the province to invest in building farming areas on a large scale. Up to now, An Giang is raising 1,119 hectares of water surface and has harvested 853 hectares, equivalent to nearly 274,000 tons.

Mr. Le Chi Binh - Vice Chairman of An Giang Fisheries Association (AFA), commented that the tax rate of 0% is good news for both farmers and exporters but to be sustainable, it is necessary to comply with the commitments. with the import side. "The output must meet the demand, the quality and food safety and hygiene issues must be within the permitted limits. It is very important for Vietnamese pangasius to struggle not only with the US market but also in the US. all markets "- said Mr. Binh.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), by the end of September, the total export value of pangasius reached US $ 1.46 billion, down 8.5% compared to the same period last year. In particular, the total value of pangasius exports to the US (the second largest export market after China) reached 208.3 million USD, accounting for 14.3% of the total pangasius export value, down 43.6% compared to the previous year. with the same period. Thus, up to this point, this is a large and noticeable decline in the US in the past 5 years. According to VASEP's forecast, Pangasius export value to the US in the fourth quarter of 2019 will continue to decline. The reason is that our country's largest pangasius export market, China, is not as easy as it used to be, but it also creates many barriers.

According to IDI company leaders, there are many catfish farmers in the US, they have a catfish association and constantly sue the US government to protect domestic production. In case they accept to abolish this tax, it is likely that there will be additional barriers on food safety, environment, etc making it difficult for Vietnamese enterprises to meet. Particularly for IDI, there has long been a farming area that has been assessed and evaluated by many organizations meeting Global GAP, BAP and ASC standards, so products are easily traceable.

Not only IDI, but many pangasius exporters said that the US trade management agency announced the 0% antidumping duty on Vietnam's pangasius exports this time, which is a positive signal. From here, businesses are mentally prepared to implement the plan "big fish" for the opportunity to export to this market at the end of the year.

VIFEP (SAOMAI)