The Food Safety and Inspection Service under the United States Department of Agriculture officially recognised Việt Nam's Pangasius Food Safety Control System on October 31 after more than three years of negotiations.

The tra fish export sector was probably the most improved industry this year, but rampant production could lead to excess supplies and price drops, according to Việt Dragon Securities Company (VDSC).

The domestic fishing industry should promote production of tra fish and shrimp by the end of this year to take advantage of the export potential of both commodities on the word market, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

Việt Nam expects to earn a total of U$9 billion from seafood exports this year, a year-on-year increase of 7 per cent, after achieving good results in the first nine months, according to the Việt Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

 The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) under the United States Department of Agriculture has proposed continuing Việt Nam’s eligibility to export Siluriformes fish, commonly known as catfish, and fish products to the United States.

US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) will inspect reality of Việt Nam’s catfish control system in next months, according the National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (NAFIQAD).

The export of tra (catfish) is still facing difficulties although exports for January-September hit US$1.3 billion, up 5.8 per cent over the same period last year, said the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) protested a new US anti-dumping duty on tra frozen fillets from Việt Nam.

Despite a new US requirement that foreign exporters demonstrate their food safety control system is equivalent to American regulations, no backlog has been recorded in Vietnamese tra fish exports to that country.

All batches of products made from Siluriformes fish that are to be shipped to the US will have to undergo food safety tests from August 2, 2017, instead of September 1. That has created many obstacles for Vietnamese enterprises in exporting those products to the US.