The paradox of buying and selling tuna.

• July 10, 2014 21:10

The middlemen who buy tuna use every means possible to pressure fishermen into selling their catch, employing various methods and countless excuses.

Each tuna fishing trip in Phu Yen province requires an investment of hundreds of millions of dong. However, upon returning to shore, they consistently suffer losses because the price of the fish depends on middlemen. This paradox has persisted for many years.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hung's fishing boat, from Ward 6, Tuy Hoa City, Phu Yen Province, returned from the Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands nearly a month ago carrying almost 2 tons of tuna. Upon docking at the port, Mr. Hung was extremely worried as the price of tuna had dropped from 140,000 VND to 125,000 VND per kilogram for grade 1 tuna.

After nearly a month at sea, the money from selling fish was less than 200 million VND, just enough to cover expenses, leaving very little to share with fellow fishermen. Mr. Hung said that price manipulation is a frequent occurrence at fishing ports in the South Central region.

"In Khanh Hoa or Binh Dinh, there are many middlemen competing on purchase prices, so the price is higher. But in Phu Yen, the middlemen buy less fish, they manipulate prices, arbitrarily increasing or decreasing them, and use all sorts of excuses to pressure fishermen," Mr. Hung said.


Tuna prices are always manipulated by traders. (Image: Internet)

In Phu Yen province, businesses currently do not directly purchase seafood but instead rely on purchasing agents at the port. At the fishing port in Ward 6, where hundreds of tuna fishing boats are concentrated, there are only 5-6 purchasing agents. When the boats arrive at the port, traders assess the quality of the fish manually by poking the flesh with a stick, and then try every means to pressure the fishermen.

Mr. Cao Van Loc, an employee at the fishing port in Ward 6, Tuy Hoa City, Phu Yen Province, said that fishermen are very upset with this method of assessing fish quality, but because they spend nearly a month at sea, they are forced to sell their fish as soon as they return to shore.

"With freshly caught fish, the middlemen use probes to test the fish. They say it's grade 1, and the sellers have to believe it. If they say it's grade 2, the sellers have to believe it. As a result, the fishermen feel resentful and frustrated," Mr. Loc said.

According to Mr. Nguyen Tri Phuong, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Phu Yen province, for nearly two years, the more fish production increases, the more fishermen are pressured by low prices. The main reason for this situation is the lack of coordination between fishermen, dealers, and businesses.

"We haven't yet organized a model for fishing and consumption along the value chain. When tuna is consumed well, it will improve the quality of the fish. Often, poor consumption and processing capacity leads to indifferent buyers, unstable prices, and reduced fish quality," Mr. Phuong commented.

In the near future, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will implement a pilot project to organize the exploitation, purchase, processing, and consumption of tuna in a value chain in coastal localities of Central Vietnam. With this project, it is hoped that the worries of fishermen will be alleviated, helping them to feel secure in continuing their work at sea.

According to VOV