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The daily Hanoi-based newspaper
Nhan Dan reported how two catfish farmers from the US
visited Chau Doc recently, prior to the US-Vietnam bilateral
trade agreement (BTA) taking effect. Vietnamese exports
could face anti-dumping action if the country is found to be
operating uncompetitive practices.
They discovered that the
level of investment required by farm owners was small and
workers were paid just USD 26 per month compared with around
USD 10 per hour for workers in the United States. US catfish
farmers also suffer loses of up to 70 per cent of juvenile
fish due to predation while at the farm run by Dang Thanh
Nhan on the Hau river, losses were a maximum of 10 per cent.
US farmers also depend entirely on industrial feed, whereas
those in Vietnam do not.
After learning about raising
basa fish in Vietnam, the two American catfish owners told
Mr Nhan they would be interested in a joint venture to farm
basa fish once the BTA between the two countries takes
effect.
According to the newspaper, a
US lawyer had concluded that the facts of basa farming in
Vietnam would allow it to win a court case over alleged
catfish dumping at low prices. |
