More opportunities for exporting VN’s catfish to U.S.

VGP - The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) under the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently proposed that Viet Nam’s catfish inspection systems are equivalent to those in the U.S.

September 18, 2018 10:37 AM GMT+7

Illustration photo

According to the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), the FSIS will publish in the Federal Register proposed rules to list Viet Nam, China, and Thailand as three foreigners qualified to ship catfish to the U.S.

The proposed rules announce FSIS’ determination that catfish (or siluriformes) inspection systems in the three countries be equivalent to those in the US. The proposals will be open for comment for 30 days.

Viet Nam, China, and Thailand had submitted documentations to the FSIS to establish the level of their catfish inspection systems and eligibility to export this kind of fish to the U.S.

Right after the inspection program was issued, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development ordered relevant agencies to implement technical cooperation with the FSIS. At the same time, the ministry worked closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to maintain catfish exports to the American country.

In the first six months of the year, Viet Nam gained US$196.8 million from tra fish export to this market, accounting for 19.6% of total tra fish export revenue, and increasing by 11.6% from the same time last year.

By Thuy Dung