Cambodia reconsiders order banning imports of farmed fish

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, right after knowing that the Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries issued a notice on January 8, 2021 on banning imports of four farmed fish (shark catfish, cobia, catfish and snakehead) from neighboring countries bordering Vietnam to protect markets for fish farming households of this country, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has worked with Vietnamese provinces bordering with Cambodia and Vietnamese seafood exporters to get insights into the situation.

Initially, the Ministry of Industry and Trade found that many catfish shipments exporting to Cambodia through Khanh Binh border gate (An Giang province) were not custom - cleared and must return to Vietnam.

Given such situation, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh has sent a letter to Cambodian Minister of Trade Pan Sorasak. Minister Tran Tuan Anh underlined, in the letter, that the order of Cambodia would have a negative impact on businesses of the two countries as well as Cambodian consumers.

Especially, the above order goes against the spirit of trade liberalization of the WTO and ASEAN Economic Community which both Vietnam and Cambodia are members.

In response to reasonable arguments and thorough analyses given in the letter, on January 29, Cambodian Minister of Trade Pan Sorasak exchanged with Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and hosted a meeting to reconsider the order temporarily banning imports of four farmed fish from neighboring countries including Vietnam.

In recent years, Vietnam has exported roughly US$ 60 million of seafood value per year to Cambodia. Although Cambodia is not a big market for Vietnamese seafood, its import demand is quite stable which well contributes to the development of border trade, job creation and income generation for the people.

In the coming time, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will continue to coordinate with relevant Cambodian agencies to proceed handling the case with an aim to ensuring the normal and smooth export of Vietnam’s fish to Cambodia.