Profit from catfish falls in South following shift
VIET NAM - From 1997 to 2002, average profit for catfish farmers was VND2.886mil per tonne, but that dropped to VND1.033mil for 2003-2005 after a shift away from the US.
According to recent studies in An Giang, Dong Thap and Can Tho by researchers from Can Tho University and Scotlands Stirling University, profit per tonne of fillet catfish for export also dropped from US$180 to $112.
The export market for this kind of catfish has shifted from the US to the European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) following US claims of the overuse of chemicals in raising.
In An Giang Province, catfish output to the US dropped from 5,000 tonnes in 2003 to 274 tonnes in 2005, while it increased from 2,600 tonnes in 2003 to 27,000 tonnes in 2005 for the EU market, and from 224 to 20,000 tonnes for ASEAN.
Total processing capacity for the three provinces in the study is nearly 200,000 tonnes per year. Analysts have said that in the coming year, capacity will increase by 15% on average because export growth may decrease one-third over the previous period.
Source: TBKTSG
The export market for this kind of catfish has shifted from the US to the European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) following US claims of the overuse of chemicals in raising.
In An Giang Province, catfish output to the US dropped from 5,000 tonnes in 2003 to 274 tonnes in 2005, while it increased from 2,600 tonnes in 2003 to 27,000 tonnes in 2005 for the EU market, and from 224 to 20,000 tonnes for ASEAN.
Total processing capacity for the three provinces in the study is nearly 200,000 tonnes per year. Analysts have said that in the coming year, capacity will increase by 15% on average because export growth may decrease one-third over the previous period.
Source: TBKTSG