Vietnam assures seafood safety after E.U. issues warning

By Bui Hong Nhung June 3, 2016 | 01:57 am PT

Shrimp exports. Photo by baohaiquan.

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers has issued a staement saying that the mass fish deaths that occurred in central provinces will not affect supplies or quality of Vietnam's seafood exports.

The statement was made in response to a warning sent by the European Union to its members on May 24, which mentioned Vietnam’s fish deaths and asked for strict supervision of Vietnamese seafood exports.

The association said that supplies of Vietnamese seafood mainly come from southern coastal provinces, which were not affected by the disaster.

In early April, large quantities of fish washed up dead near the Vung Ang Economic Zone in Ha Tinh Province. The phenomenon spread south along a 200-kilometer stretch of coast and four central provinces, resulting in more than 100 tons of dead fish.

The Department of Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance has instructed seafood processors not to buy dead fish and trace the origins of seafood they plan to export.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development also took sample tests and confirmed that fish caught offshore (more than 35 meters from land) the affected provinces are safe.

Last year, Vietnam collected $6.5 billion from seafood exports, down 16 percent on-year. The association expects export value to grow in 2016 due to high demand on the global market.