Doors still open for Vietnams catfish to American market

Domestic catfish exporters still expect the US Commerce Court to review and adjust down unfair high anti-dumping duties imposed on the product recently, helping them continue the shipment to the market.

Vietnam targets to earn $2 billion from catfish exports in 2018

Secretary General of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) Truong Dinh Hoe said after the US Department of Commerce (DOC) imposed the high anti-dumping duties on Vietnamese catfish, domestic firms have brought the case to the US Commerce Court, which will review the DOC’s tax imposition and may ask the department to adjust the rate.  

This is not the first time Vietnam has filed a lawsuit against the DOC, Hoe said, noting that in previous cases, the court had required the DOC to reduce duties levied on Vietnamese products. 

“Therefore, we believe that the case would end with a similar result, which mean the DOC will have to re-calculate the tax rate” he said, expecting that the door to the US market is still open for Vietnamese catfish exporters.

According to the final results of the DOC’s 13th administrative review (POR13) of anti-dumping duties on Vietnamese tra fish (pangasius) exported to the US from August 1, 2015 through July 31, 2016, Godaco Seafood JSC, which was selected as the only mandatory respondent during the POR13, was imposed a tax rate of US$3.87 per kg, 5.61 times higher than $0.60 of POR12, and the highest ever level. 

The tax rate is irrational and unfair as the DOC did not fully consider the information provided by Godaco but instead applied adverse factors available (AFA) to determine the duty margin, Hoe said. 

According to Hoe, in the context of the return of protectionism, in order to maintain their share in the world market, the first requirement for Vietnamese businesses is product quality. 

It is necessary to lower prices of Vietnamese tra and basa fish to compete with other aquatic products in the US, he said. 

According to VASEP, Vietnam has been so far also among few countries which have been allowed to continue to ship pangasius products to the US thanks to its satisfaction of the market’s requirements. 

According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), only three countries – Vietnam, China and Thailand – satisfied the USDA’s first test for continuing to send pangasius to the US. The countries’ documented inspection system of controls appears to provide an equivalent level of public health protection as that applied domestically in the US.

According to the US inspection program for siluriformes, including pangasius, Vietnam’s pangasius products exported to the United States will be strictly controlled from the stages of raising and harvesting fish to processing and packaging them.

In the past, the Vietnam’s National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (NAFIQAD) co-operated with relevant agencies under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, VASEP and enterprises processing pangasius for exports to the United States to provide over 2,000 pages answering questionnaires under the self-reporting tools (SRT) policies of the US pangasius inspection program.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has set a target of earning $2 billion from catfish export this year, said Acting Director General of Directorate of Fisheries Nguyen Ngoc Oai.

Accordingly, the catfish export is expected to account for 31.5 percent of the fishery industry’s export turnover in 2018. The catfish output is also planned at more than 1.3 million tons.

To meet the target this year, the domestic fishery industry will improve the quality of fish bleedings besides enlarging export markets for catfish products.  

Meanwhile, farmers need to team up with catfish processing companies to ensure a balance between supply and demand.