The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will host a trade promotion event from June 9 to June 12 in Hanoi to boost the production and consumption of tra fish, also known as pangasius.

The opening months of the year have seen tra fish production, processing and export experience a downward trend as a result of the combined effects of both the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, drought, and saline intrusion. 

Moreover, the industry’s heavy reliance on exports has caused domestic tra fish to encounter numerous difficulties after foreign partners canceled or delayed export orders because of the imposition of social distancing measures. As a result, the pangasius export turnover to the markets such as the EU, ASEAN, China, and the US has fallen sharply.

In an effort to combat this decline, the Directorate of Fisheries, in collaboration with the Centre for Trade Promotion of Agriculture and a number of other units under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, will jointly organise an event as part of the trade fair of aquatic products.

Tran Dinh Luan, General Director of the Directorate of Fisheries, says that tra fish is Vietnam’s major aquatic product which has been exported to more than 120 countries worldwide. However, domestic consumers generally do not have the opportunity to enjoy Tra fish processed products.  

The challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are expected to provide a golden chance to restructure the domestic market of pangasius products, along with fishery products in general. 

The upcoming event is expected to serve as an ideal venue in which to strengthen the connectivity of production enterprises and distributors as they strive to remove difficulties in production and consumption to bolster the fish industry’s sustainable development. 

In line with the framework of the event, a co-operation agreement will be inked to boost the consumption of tra fish products between local enterprises and large retail groups, along with industrial zones.