Tra fish farmers need to be protected

Do you have any comments on the businesses of Tra fish production and export which are concentrating on investmenting to expand the material area?

There are many reasons that the businesses expanded the Tra fish farming area to be proactive in material sources. First, preferential policies of capital of the government for Tra fish export businesses in the previous time were over. Second, businesses will actively take the initiative in raw materials for export processing. And third, businesses are entitled to more incentives than farmers, including tax refund of 5 percent VAT of fish feed (while fish farmers are not).

According to you, how will this impact on the farming activities of the people?

When businesses invest in expanding fish farming area, farmers will have to stop. As the market is limited, fish farming should be based on the market demand. At the same time, we are only raising a sufficient amount or short of it a little bit so that unnecessary crisis and falling prices will not occur. If this is not absolutely solved, selling under the floor price will be repeated. It is better to farm little than breed much without profits and with lost capital. The lesson in 2012 – 2013 of Tra fish sector have been drawn, the prices increased while farmers did not have fish to sell, most farmers had to “hang ponds”, access to capital was difficult …

On the other hand, within two  years (2012 – 2013), due to unfair competition the export and processing factories vied with one another to win the contracts, so they lowered prices for customers and then they bought the fish from farmers at 3,000 – 4,000 VND/kg, which means that fish farmers faced loss of 3,000 – 4,000 VND/kg. Thereby, with three farming seasons, fish farmers lost and they did not have capital to feed fish. Besides, they owed banks. They mortgaged all fields and gardens and houses off. This is a really difficult situation for fish farmers in the Mekong Delta today. They must get particular policy mechanisms from the government to solve the problem.

What impact and solutions does Vietnam Tra Fish Association have for this problem?

For the difficulties of the Tra industry at present, the Vietnamese Tra Fish Association has had positive efforts to capture information on the export and processing and markets to find a right direction to solve the problem.

When bussinesses invest in expanding fish farming area, farmers will have to stop – Photo: An Dang

Association office and the Secretary General once a month meet with the Fisheries Department of the provinces in the Mekong Delta to obtain information on farming, harvesting, advantages and disadvantages of market conditions. The Standing Board has monthly meetings to find solutions for difficulties facing the Tra fish industry. We are trying to complete the organizational system, consisting of four committees: Foreign affairs and trade promotion; production executive, processing and export; legislation, membership development; and construction and management of the quality and brand. At the same time, we continuously propose MARD and the Government so to issue policies and mechanisms soon to deal with the difficulties of the Tra fish industry in the Mekong Delta.

According to you, what is necessary to be done for fish farmers to work effectively?

Through many years of difficulties that the Tra fish industry faced with, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Fisheries Directorate have had over 10 seminars with fisheries societies of the provinces in the Mekong Delta. Here, many fish farmers, exporters and the local authorities have mentioned current difficulties and recommended many solutions. These ideas have been put into a draft decree on farming, processing and exporting Tra fish.

Especially, the draft contains provisions vital to the Tra fish sector: regulations on quality, hygiene and food safety to create a Vietnam Tra fish band; regulations on the farming plan to balance supply and demand (stocking as planned, issued planning, avoiding massive stocking and imbalance in production); and regulations on the floor prices of raw materials for profits of farmers. When the decree is issued, it will solve current difficulties in the Tra fish production chain and the Tra fish industry will produce stably and develop sustainably.

Besides, in order for farmers who raise Tra fish independently to continue their profession and develop sustainably in the future, the important solution given is the association together in the form of the cooperatives, creating the supply of the raw fish of suitable size to control better price. At the same time, the business community with processing plants is oriented to associate closely with farmers. They are provided with capital, then guaranteed with output. With this connection, businesses will instruct people to plan the farming area to ensure food safety, raw materials, creating a motive to promote the large-scale farmers.

Thank you so much!