A Vietnamese pangasius (basa, tra, swai) exporter says limited cold storage space is slowing the development of the country's aquaculture industry.
Ngo Phuoc Hau, general director of the An Giang Fisheries Import and Export Joint Stock Co. (Agifish), told the Vietnam News Agency that the lack of cold storage space is causing losses and keeping tra prices down.
Hau said that most freezers in the Mekong Delta region, Vietnam's largest seafood-producing area, hold only about 2,000 to 3,000 metric tons, with only a handful capable of storing more.
Hau said the region needs freezers with a capacity of 50,000 to 100,000 metric tons or more, which would help the seafood processing industry in dealing with price fluctuations.
Due to limited capital, however, processors have not invested in cold storage capacity. According to the report, the Binh An Seafood Processing Plant in Southern Can Tho Province, one of the country's leading seafood processors, can only store 2,500 metric tons.
Over the past decade, Vietnam's pangasius processors have expanded annual output capacity to about 1 million metric tons. The seafood export is industry expected to earn more than $1 billion this year, according to the Ministry of Fisheries.
