Sustainable development strategy for the fisheries industry

This morning, October 23, the Multilateral Trade Policy Department ( Ministry of Industry and Trade ) coordinated with the Department of Industry and Trade of Can Tho City to organize a seminar on "On the ecosystem of utilizing FTAs, including the EVFTA Agreement" in Can Tho City.

Attending the Conference were Mr. Ngo Chung Khanh, Deputy Director - Multilateral Trade Policy Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), leaders of the Department of Industry and Trade of Can Tho City, Department of International Cooperation ( Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development ) and leaders of the fisheries sector, banking enterprises...

Speaking at the opening of the conference, Mr. Ha Vu Son - Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Can Tho city said that Can Tho is located in the center of the Mekong Delta, with strengths in rice, seafood and fruit trees. Currently, the city has more than 12,000 operating enterprises, most of which are small and medium-sized, including 168 exporting enterprises. The whole province has 66 seafood enterprises, of which over 50 enterprises export to the EU market alone.

Export turnover of goods and service revenue in the first 9 months of 2024 is estimated at 1,793.29 million USD (rice, seafood, garments, agricultural products and processed agricultural products, pharmaceuticals, veterinary medicine and leather, machinery and equipment), up 9.83% over the same period, reaching 82.11% of the plan. Import turnover of goods in the first 9 months of 2024 is estimated at 405.95 million USD, up 3.95% over the same period, reaching 75.74% of the yearly plan.

Mr. Ha Vu Son - Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Can Tho city spoke at the conference.

Seafood export items such as frozen pangasius fillets, whole pangasius, butterfly-cut pangasius, frozen fish, frozen shrimp, canned shrimp, canned crab, sardines, fish cakes, surimi fish cakes, pangasius sushi, pangasius sashimi... Export items such as pangasius and shrimp remain stable in the US, European and Japanese markets.

Mr. Huynh Thanh Su - Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Can Tho City spoke at the conference.

In the first 9 months of 2024, the Can Tho C/O office received and issued 14,013 sets of documents (an increase of 1,928 sets compared to the same period last year) with an export turnover of 996.7 million USD, of which 5,530 sets were issued to enterprises in Can Tho city. The EU market issued 3,115 sets, with a turnover of 91.92 million USD (including enterprises in provinces and cities applying for C/O).

In parallel with the CPTPP Agreement, 97-100% of import tax lines for goods originating from Vietnam will be eliminated. In the past 9 months, 1,133 sets have been issued, the main export items are rice and seafood with a turnover of 91.8 million USD, the export markets are Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, etc.

At the conference, Mr. Huynh Thanh Su, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Can Tho City, informed about some solutions in the coming time. That is, closely coordinate with ministries, branches, associations and export enterprises to proactively remove difficulties and obstacles within their authority, especially in the face of the increasing trend of technical barriers and food safety and hygiene.

Promote calling for investment in the complete construction of a Grade II Logistics Center and an Air Logistics Center in Can Tho City. Strengthen the connection of trade promotion activities between the city and domestic provinces and cities and international partners. Coordinate with units of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the system of Trade Offices, Trade Promotion Offices, and Product Introduction Centers abroad to actively support businesses in expanding export markets, bringing the city's products and goods to foreign consumers. Strengthen support and promotion of exports for aquatic products and OCOP-certified products of the city.

Conference scene

At the conference, Mr. Ngo Chung Khanh, Deputy Director of the Multilateral Trade Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) shared that in order to better utilize incentives from FTAs ​​as well as realize solutions for the Vietnamese seafood industry to continue to develop, it is necessary to pay attention to 5 issues.

Specifically, the first is raw materials, feed and breeds; the second is access to credit; the third is access to markets and orders; the fourth is information on foreign regulations and finally the issue of branding.

Sharing at the Seminar, Ms. Vu Thuy Linh, Department of International Cooperation (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) said: The existing problems in aquaculture/processing/fishing/exporting aquatic products of Vietnam to FTA partner markets (focusing on CPTPP, EU and UK markets) are about trade defense; supply of materials and supplies; responsibility to the environment, society and sustainable development...

Mr. Hoang Trong Thuy, an agricultural expert, also shared about the advantages of FTAs ​​that bring long-term development to export businesses. However, issues related to the origin of goods, transportation costs, farming certification, the absence of cooperatives in the supply source; and the removal of the EC tag are posing challenges to the seafood export industry and businesses.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/he-sinh-thai-tan-dung-cac-fta-chien-luoc-phat-trien-ben-vung-cho-nganh-thuy-san-354220.html