Ho Chi Minh City expects an ornamental fish export industry of USD 100 million by 2030

Ho Chi Minh Ornamental Fish Festival brings many surprises

The Ho Chi Minh Ornamental Fish Festival 2023 was held from May 26 to May 28 at the Youth Cultural House (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC)) by the Ho Chi Minh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in collaboration with the HCMC Agricultural Industry Association.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Mr. Dinh Minh Hiep, Director of the Ho Chi Minh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that ornamental fish is one of the city’s six key industries, especially a specialized profession with a lot of potentials. HCMC has mechanisms and policies to develop this profession, such as supporting training, providing documents, building demonstration models, etc., aiming to make it one of the key fields in agricultural production.

At the ornamental fish competition, the outstanding fish participating in the festival include Goldfish, Flowerhorn, Guppy, Betta, Discus, Arowana, etc., with the participation of nearly 1,900 lakes. Many species of unique, strange, and beautiful ornamental fish have attracted many people and tourists to visit. The Ho Chi Minh Ornamental Fish Festival 2023 made a strong impression on the jury about the number of lakes, rare and precious fish species, and especially the passion of the people for this pet.

In particular, this year's festival has 20 stalls of ornamental fish production facilities in the country and some countries in the region, such as Korea, China, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, etc. To create a transparent and fair competition, the jury team also includes foreign judges from the above countries.

"This creates the competition’s objectivity and also contributes to promoting the image of ornamental fish of Vietnam in general and HCMC in particular in the international market, thereby promoting the export of ornamental fish," said Mr. Tan Xuyen, Head of the HCMC Ornamental Fish Branch.

At the same time, this is an opportunity for organizations and individuals to exchange, connect, and share experiences in ornamental fish farming and care techniques, promote trade, and aim for export in the coming time.

According to Mr. Dinh Minh Hiep, this is an opportunity to contribute to promoting seed selection and propagation and improving the quality and value of ornamental fish products, which will bring many economic benefits to farmers. Thereby turning HCMC into a center of research, production, export, and supply of high-quality ornamental fish seeds for provinces and cities nationwide.

Expanding the way to export ornamental fish

According to the Ho Chi Minh Sub-Department of Fisheries, in the first four months of 2023, the number of ornamental fish produced in the city was 37.40 million, a decrease of more than 5 million compared to 2022.

"The reason for the decrease in the number of ornamental fish produced is that some ornamental fish farming establishments and households in Binh Chanh districts (Tan Nhut commune, Binh Loi) and Cu Chi district (Thai My commune) have temporarily stopped production because the domestic and export markets for ornamental fish have not prospered. However, according to the assessment of the authorities, this situation will soon be overcome," said Mr. Le Ton Cuong, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh Sub-Department of Fisheries.

Currently, HCMC has over 100 species of ornamental fish popularly farmed around the world. Vietnam ranks 16th on the list of ornamental fish exporting countries in the world. HCMC alone accounted for 50% of the total turnover.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Phung of the HCMC Agricultural Industry Association, the HCMC's aquarium industry, with a production area of over 90ha and approximately 300 ornamental fish farming facilities, has expanded to the international market, exporting to 50 countries and territories.

"HCMC's ornamental fish export market is most concentrated in Europe (accounting for 64.78%), Asia (28.49%), America (5.10%), the Middle East (1.28%), and South Africa (0.35%)," said Mr. Phung.

According to the assessment of the Sub-Department of Fisheries, the Ho Chi Minh Ornamental Fish Festival marks the strengthening of the activities of professional organizations, cooperatives, and linkage chains in order to ensure sustainable development for the aquarium industry. Through this, the image and production capacity of ornamental fish are more widely known by international friends.

Mr. Le Ton Cuong also said that the Ho Chi Minh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has set a goal of exporting ornamental fish to reach USD 100 million by 2030. To achieve this goal, the city also invests in the research and development of new ornamental fish varieties and the domestication of natural fish species with the ability to make ornamental fish. According to him, the good news is that the trend of importing ornamental fish is increasing every year, especially in the European market. This is a good sign for exports.

The city currently has about 20 ornamental fish export units, including one cooperative and four cooperative groups operating in the field of ornamental fish farming. These cooperatives and groups all make important contributions to the HCMC's aquarium industry, meeting the needs of domestic and export markets.