Vietnam Catfish Exports May Be Hurt by WWF Red List, VASEP Says

Vietnamese catfish exporters are concerned that European sales may be hurt after a guide by World Wide Fund for Nature advised consumers not to buy the fish.

Members of the WWF in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Norway and Denmark on Nov. 19 issued a consumer guide, placing some of Vietnam’s catfish products on the so-called “red list” of products that people should not consume because of unsustainable farming practices, Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors said.

European markets currently make up almost 37 percent of catfish exports from companies in the Southeast Asian country including Vinh Hoan Corp and Hung Vuong Corp.

The impact on Vietnamese catfish exports will be “unavoidable,” Nguyen Huu Dung, vice chairman of the association, said in Hanoi today. Those companies which have not met the Global GAP standard would “definitely be impacted,” Dung said, without elaborating.

Global GAP is a Germany-based private body that sets voluntary certification standards for agricultural products globally, according to its website. Dung said 20 companies have met that international standard, accounting for between 17 percent and 20 percent of Vietnam’s catfish farming area.

To contact the Bloomberg News staff on this story: Diep Ngoc Pham in Hanoi at dpham5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Darren Boey at dboey@bloomberg.net