MARD proposes to set up interdisciplinary team to deal with sturgeon of unknown origin

MARD has sent a document on controlling the import of commerial sturgeon used for food to the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industry and Trade, National Steering Committee for Combating Smuggling, Commercial Fraud and Couterfeit Goods and other relevant agencies.

The document signed by Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien is to implement the document No. 187/VPVP-DMDM dated 8/1/2021 of the Government Office in response to recommendations of the Vietnam Fisheries Society and Coldwater Fish Development Societies of Lam Dong and Lao Cai provinces on the business situation of sturgeon in some big cities and wholesale markets that are not in the list of trading - permitted seafood in Vietnam.

MARD has cooperated with local authorities to collect commercial sturgeon samples at Yen So market in Hanoi city and Binh Dien market in Ho Chi Minh city.

The result shows that many commercial sturgeon samples are morphologically unsuitable to those which are permitted to be traded in Vietnam as stipulated in the Decree No.26/2019/ND-CP dated 3rd August 2019 of the Government regulating in detail some articles and measures to enforce the Law on Fisheries, including Beluga sturgeon (Husohuso), Russion sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii), Sterlet sturgeon (Acipenser ruthenus), Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis) and Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis).

Sturgeon under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora is strictly controlled on origin by CITES Vietnam and specialized management agencies.

However, some imported sturgeon with unknown origin and without quarantine being traded in the market can badly affect consumers’ health, the environment and sturgeon production in Vietnam.

Therefore, in order to promptly and effectively prevent commercial fraud in importing sturgeon and to strictly comply with Directive No. 29/CT-TTg dated 23th July 2020 of the Prime Minister on some urgent solutions for wildlife management, MARD proposed related Ministries, central agencies and localities to direct relevant agencies to implement some contents in the Directive.

The Ministry of Finance is responsible for directing customs agencies at key border gates including: Huu Nghi, Lao Cai, Mong Cai, Chi Ma, Ta Lung...to strictly control the import of sturgeon to Vietnam so as to meet requirements of origin and be in the list of trading – permitted seafood in Vietnam.

Ministry of Industry and Trade is responsible for directing market management force; National Steering Committee for Combating Smuggling, Commercial Fraud and Couterfeit Goods (389 Steeing Committe) to intensify the inspection of circulation, transportation and trading of sturgeon in the market in order to prevent the mingling of unknow – origin sturgeon with domestic ones; as well as prevent commercial fraud with an aim to preventing the interests of domestic farmers and consumers.

Leaders of agencies under MARD basing on their functions and tasks are responsible for coordinating with relevant agencies of the Ministry of Public Security and localities to set up an interdiscipline team to inspect and strictly punish transporters carrying unknown – origion sturgeon and not following quarantine as requested.

MARD also calls on production and business associations to continue exchanging information on sturgeon business in Vietnam so as to promptly report violation cases to MARD for timely handling; distributing information and guiding members to strictly comply with laws and regulations on sturgeon business.

As earlier reported by The Vietnam Agriculture Newspaper, during past time, Vietnam Fisheries Society, Coldwater Fish Development Society of Lam Dong province, Coldwater Fish Society of Lao Cai province have continuously sent documents to the Prime Minister and related ministries and agencies asking for help on the business of sturgeon which is not in the list of trading – permitted seafood in Vietnam in some big cities and wholesale markets.

According to domestic sturgeon businesses, cooperatives and farming households, Chinese sturgeon that have massively rushed into Vietnam through official and unoffficial channels not belonging to the permitted list has caused negative impacts on the domestic sturgeon industry as well as the quality of Vietnamese sturgeon.

The quality issue of Chinese sturgeon of unknown origin which is uninspected and unquarantined tends to badly affect the health of consumers, in the long run, gaps in the import of sturgeon from China may strangle the domestic sturgeon industry.

The abundant sturgeon imported from China with selling price at only 2/3 of that from domestic market, together with the ambiguity of origin due to the mingling of Chinese sturgeon with Vietnamese one have made consumers unable to distinguish between the two kinds, creating unfair competition in the current sturgeon market.

After Vietnam Agriculture Newspaper had a series of articles on this issue, Standing Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh had directed the Ministry of Public Security and the National Steering Committee for Combating Smuggling, Commercial Fraud and Couterfeit Goods to clafiry on the reported information.

Therefore, the Ministry of Public Security, the National Steering Committee for Combating Smuggling, Commercial Fraud and Couterfeit Goods was assigned to coordinate with relevant agencies to urgently work on press reports in order to handle the issues in accordance with regulations and laws and direction of the Prime Minister as stipulated in the Directive No.5 and promptly report to the Prime Minister any issues beyond given authority.

According to statistics, the total 2020 domestic output of sturgeon reached over 3,700 tons, accounting for more than 11.5% of the world’s total sturgeon output with the economic value of over VND 500 billion. The production average growth in the period 2007-2020 achieved 68.75% which not only contributed to increasing revenue for the state budget but also for social security, job income creation for thousands of employees, especially those in the mountainous areas, remoted areas and extremely difficult areas.

Up to now, sturgeon faming model has been present in more than 25 cities and provinces across the nation with the contribution of more than 30 companies, cooperatives and farming households...However, the achievements and potentials for the development of Vietnamese sturgeon are being threatened by gaps in the import of sturgeon and the illegal import of sturgeon from China and even facing the risk of stranglehold.