VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has insisted on no more than 10 percent of ice and 83 percent of moisture in seafood exports, but businesses have vowed they will fight the regulation.

As predicted, MARD’s dispatch signed by Deputy Minister Vu Van Tam dated January 13, 2015 confirmed that all seafood companies must obey Decree No 36 issued in April on the ceiling for ice and moisture percentage in seafood exports.

As such, the watchdog agency has said ‘no’ to businesses’ proposal to lift the cap on ceiling ice and moisture percentages.

Nguyen Huu Dung, deputy chair of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), said that the new regulation is “groundless” and that it violates current laws, including the Law on Goods Quality.

Under the law, Dung said, enterprises determine and register their product quality, while the State does not get involved in the issue. It only sets up regulations related to food hygiene to ensure safety for consumers.

Dung went on to say that the currently applied percentages of ice and moisture are “reasonable” in current market conditions and they are accepted by importers.

Therefore, there is no reason for Vietnam to set caps on the percentages.

“MARD sets up the caps in an effort to increase the quality of seafood exports. However, the ministry cannot be sure that the high-quality products will sell well,” Dung noted.

“Will the ministry compensate if businesses take losses?” he asked, adding that hundreds of thousands of tons of catfish have been left unsold.

The director of a seafood company said that demand for catfish in the world market decreased after the “golden age” of 2002-2007, when the catfish export turnover soared from $80 million to $1.45 billion within five years.

He said the export growth has been slowing down since 2008, with export turnover increasing slightly to $1.8 billion and export price decreasing from $4 to $2 per kilo.

The lower export price, plus the higher production costs (due to the lower required ice and moisture percentages) and more complicated procedures, has made the situation worse for enterprises.

MARD, amid strong protest from enterprises, has made a concession, deciding to delay the enforcement of the decree No 36 to 2016 instead of January 1, 2015.

However, this did not satisfy seafood exporters, who vowed they would protest the regulation to the end.

In the latest news, the Ministry of Planning and Investment will act as a third party to reconcile and find a solution to the year-long dispute.

Ngoc Ha