NFI President counsels Viet Nam’s exporters

[SafeSeafood - 01/04/2010 10:36:10 AM]
Agriculture Ministry officials and leaders of the Vietnamese seafood industry have discussed how to control the quality of Viet Nam’s seafood products exported to the U.S. with John Connelly, President of the U.S. National Fisheries Institute (NFI).

According to MARD Deputy Minister, Luong Le Phuong, the U.S. was the third largest importer of Viet Nam’s seafood with 16.9 percent. Pangasius accounts for 31.8 percent of total seafood exports. Imposing anti-dumping duties on Pangasius is a unfair decision against Viet Nam’s seafood industry. Then, Phuong proposed that Vietnamese and U.S. businesses reach an understanding on modes of dealing with practical problems.

Connelly said that both Viet Nam’s exporters and U.S. consumers will be hurt if the U.S. legally defines Pangasius as a variety of ‘catfish’ and puts strict control over Pangasius imports. Currently, the U.S. is using tariff and non-tariff barriers to restrict the penetration of competitive products from other countries and to protect the domestic seafood industry.

VASEP Standing Deputy Chairman, Dr. Nguyen Huu Dung, affirmed that VASEP is ready to cooperate with NFI and the U.S. importers to settle the existing problems. (VietFishNews)