Promoting the role of "midwife" in the fisheries industry

Many experts believe that the role of associations is becoming increasingly important. Because the establishment of associations not only contributes to the in-depth development of each industry, but also gradually strengthens the community spirit.

Many challenges for associations

The Vietnamese pangasius industry is famous worldwide, but the Vietnam Pangasius Association is only a few years old (established on March 1, 2013) with the characteristics of being a social-professional organization of Vietnamese organizations and individuals operating in the fields of farming, processing, exporting and research activities, support services for the Vietnamese pangasius industry, voluntarily established, with the aim of gathering and uniting members, protecting the rights and legitimate interests of members, supporting each other to operate effectively, contributing to the socio-economic development of the country.

The association was established when the value and market of tra fish were declining. Fragmentation, overlapping, and competition for purchase and sale were common. After two years of operation, the association has played a role in balancing supply and demand, encouraging exports, and controlling farming quality. Representatives said that tra fish exports in the first nine months of 2015 still faced many difficulties, but they had stopped the downward trend and showed signs of optimism.

Established earlier than the pangasius industry, the Vietnam Tuna Association (established on November 27, 2010) has recently invested heavily in technological innovation. Currently, in the three provinces of Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, and Khanh Hoa, there are 2,826 vessels participating in tuna fishing, including 1,872 longline and handline vessels, 675 vessels using purse seine, and 279 vessels using gillnet. The problem that this association faces is the decrease in tuna output. Binh Dinh's tuna catch reached 4,269 tons, down 3.8% over the same period in 2014; Phu Yen reached 3,243 tons, down 7.5% over the same period; Khanh Hoa was 2,295 tons, down 3.5% over the same period. At the same time, the problem of falling prices has also caused many difficulties for this Association. In early 2015, the price of hand-caught tuna was 90,000 - 100,000 VND/kg, down 10 - 20% compared to the same period last year. The price of skipjack tuna and some other types of tuna decreased by nearly 30%, fluctuating only 20,000 - 28,000 VND/kg.

Cold water fish farming in our country has not yet fully exploited its potential.

Coldwater fish have been introduced into Vietnam in large numbers over the past decade, but their full potential has not been fully exploited. At the same time, this product is under a lot of pressure when coldwater fish are imported massively, which has affected the planning and development of coldwater fish in localities. Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has issued a plan for coldwater fish until 2020 and orientation to 2030; however, to promote the potential and sustainable development of coldwater fish farming in Vietnam, it is necessary to pay more attention to management, seed production technology, disease environment management, market solutions and trade promotion, etc.

Need appropriate mechanism

Previously, the Vietnamese fisheries industry mainly developed vertically, from the central government to the provinces, from the provinces to enterprises and farmers. However, since the establishment of fisheries associations, the development model has been expanded to a horizontal axis, which is the association contributing to the organization and development of the industry in terms of social and professional organization. Enterprises said that when the association was established, the "local separatism" and "local interests" were greatly reduced, and the ability to connect between enterprises and inter-provincial and inter-regional farming households developed strongly.

Most international customers choose to contact associations to find export sources and control product quality. However, many customers believe that the role of associations in Vietnam is not up to par and not equivalent to associations in developed countries. For example, associations have the full right to control the quality of their members' products and impose penalties if members do not meet the association's general quality requirements. The recent return of many exported pangasius due to poor quality shows warnings about the traceability of product quality.

Talking to us, some association officials said that the associations are currently facing many difficulties in their operations, such as limited headquarters, staff, salary funds, and operating costs. In fact, the role of associations such as the Vietnam Fisheries Association, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, the Vietnam Ornamental Fish Association, etc. is increasingly operating substantially and plays an important role in creating horizontal links between businesses and farmers, creating uniformity in products and the ability to meet the requirements of large export orders. Therefore, the proactive creativity of associations will contribute to solving difficulties for the industry, especially for pangasius and shrimp in the coming time.

According to Vietnam Fisheries