Reported by Neil Ramsden, from the Global Outlook for Aquaculture Leadership (GOAL) 2017 conference.

Asked whether the move to US Department of Agriculture inspections for imports of Vietnamese pangasius would change the flow of the species to markets, a panel consisting of US distributors agreed the Asian nation would not struggle to find a market for its product.

“Absolutely it’s having an impact, we’ve seen the time product takes to enter commerce now go up a lot,” said Eric Buckner of Sysco Corporation.

“What you can be sure of is that Vietnam will continue to find the market where it gets the best value for its produce.” This remains the US.

Bob Yudovin of Harvest Meat Co. said pangasius prices were up 20-30% in the last 60 to 90 days, and that additional inspections were placing a burden on the import of the species.

He said his concern was which import species would be the next to be passed to the USDA, from the Food and Drug Administration, for checks.

“It’s a mess, and a hardship,” said Derrick Guss, sourcing seafood for Disney parks and cruise line. “It causes price increases, which have to be passed on to customers. We’re trying to drive consumption of seafood in the US, and this type of regulation just makes it worse.

The panelists at GOAL 2017. Credit: Undercurrentnews

[Reposted from Undercurrent news, please find the original article here. We do not in any way assume responsibility for the source content]