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WTO membership: difficulties for seafood producers (05/06)
06/08/2010 - 168 Lượt xem
What do you think are the biggest advantages of Vietnam’s seafood industry when joining WTO?
Vietnam has exported seafood to three of the biggest markets in the world, including Japan, Europe and the US. Vietnamese enterprises have gotten used to requirements set by importers, which should help them adapt to the WTO rules easily.
Vietnam now has 170 enterprises eligible to export products to the EU, and the figure may rise to 200 in the near future. In the past, local enterprises could only export products to separate countries within the EU. Now export will be easier as Vietnam has been named in the EU ‘list 1’ which allows exports to enter the whole EU market.
Do you think that low price is a competitive edge for Vietnamese seafood?
Low price was once a competitive edge, however, the situation is different now. The prices offered by Vietnamese enterprises are sometimes higher than those offered by other countries. Unstable supply has been pushing production costs up. For example, a kilogramme of unprocessed shrimp was priced at VND30,000 in the past, but is now VND50-55,000 per kilo, while the selling price of the finished product remains unchanged, at VND80,000 per kilo.
Vietnam has faced many international trade disputes. What should Vietnam do to prepare for future disputes?
There are a lot of things Vietnamese enterprises have to learn before joining the WTO. For example, they will have to learn about the laws set by the WTO. From September 7, 2005, three states in the US banned Vietnamese seafood imports after they discovered fluoroquinilone anti-biotic residues in shipments. The EU does not ban this particular substance, but does require the residues left in the seafood to be below set levels. Finally, Vietnam gave a blanket order not to use this substance in aquaculture.
Let’s talk about the competitiveness of Vietnam’s seafood. Will Vietnam’s products be able to compete with other countries when Vietnamese enterprises still use backward technologies in their production?
Vietnamese seafood has been exported to markets that have higher levels of technology, living standards, and products have proved to meet importers’ requirements.
However, I must say that the majority of the existing processing plants are small scale; therefore, plants will find it difficult to fill big orders. The current situation must improve, with suitable steps taken.
When becoming a WTO member, Vietnam will also have to open its market to imported products. This means Vietnamese enterprises will not only have to rival other exporters in offshore markets, but will also have to compete with them at home.
Ha Yen
Source: Vietnamnet
