The National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (NAFIQAD) has announced that the US has licensed six more Vietnamese pangasius processing factories to export to the market.

Adding six factories to the list of pangasius processing factories licensed to export to the US will promote the growth of Viet Nam's pangasius export value to this market.

The factories are Hop Nhat Seafood Joint Stock Company, Atlantic Seafood Frozen Factory (Atlantic Seafood), Basa Mekong Factory (Basa Mekong), a factory for processing and exporting high-grade pangasius products, Co May 2 seafood processing and exporting factory (under Co May Import and Export Co, Ltd) and CK Frozen Food Vietnam Co, Ltd.

So far, the US Food Safety and Inspection Service under the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has licensed 19 Vietnamese pangasius factories to export to the US.

The Nafiqad said these factories needed to comply with the regulations in import under the US inspection programme for Siluriformes fish. This ensures that chains of pangasius production, processing and export meet US regulations.

The Nafiqad branch four and branch six will appraise and issue certificates for export pangasius batches of these factories shipped to the US market in accordance with the FSIS notice.

The Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers said Viet Nam's pangasius export value to the US from the beginning of this year to April 15 reached US$195.3 million, up 131.4 per cent on year. —VNS