Vietnamese pangasius processors are borrowing money from the government to relieve farmers who are overloaded with too many fish and too few buyers. Farmers are stuck with approximately 170,000 tons of tra and basa, according to Thai Press Reports.
The government directed the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank) to lend processors $57 million to buy the fish, however officials from Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said companies were balking at the loan’s reported 18 percent interest rate.
During a meeting last week, provincial officials noted Agribank was only providing loans to a few of the top processors in each province, and called on the government to extend financing to smaller processors.
Nguyen Huu Dung, VASEP deputy chairman, asked that loans also be given through commercial banks instead of only Agribank.
Nguyen Dong Tien, deputy chief of the State Bank of Vietnam, promised to provide loans for processors, including the top exporters, to purchase tra and basa.
