On the morning of July 2, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development organized a meeting to evaluate the impacts of Brazil's new policies on Vietnam's exported tilapia commodity, while concurrently unifying technical, commercial, and diplomatic solutions to respond to arising barriers. The meeting was chaired by Deputy Minister Vo Van Hung.

Attending the meeting were representatives from the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance, the Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development, the Department of Livestock Production and Veterinary Medicine, the SPS Vietnam Office, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), along with multiple enterprises operating in the fields of tilapia production, processing, and export.

Brazil becomes a core export market

Reporting at the meeting, Director General of the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance Tran Dinh Luan stated that the Vietnamese tilapia industry has maintained a positive growth momentum for many past years. During the 2015-2025 period, output continuously increased with an average speed of 8.4% each year, reaching approximately 420 thousand tons in 2025.

Along with the increase in output, the farming scale has also unceasingly expanded with around 420 thousand hectares of specialized monoculture farming, 300 thousand hectares of integrated farming, and approximately 3 million m³ of commercial farming cages across the country.

Export activity recorded a powerful development step in recent years. Tilapia export turnover increased from 17 million USD in 2023 to 41 million USD in 2024 and reached 99.3 million USD in 2025.

Notably, Brazil has emerged as the most important market for Vietnamese tilapia. In just the first four months of 2026, export turnover to this South American nation reached approximately 26 million USD, accounting for 54% of the country's total tilapia export value.

However, along with the rapid increase in trade turnover, Vietnam also has to face multiple new technical barriers from this market.

Multiple new control measures against imported tilapia

According to information at the meeting, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil promulgated Regulation No. RIG.PJ.DP.AQUA.EX.AH.DEZ.25, entering into force from December 16, 2025, demanding that all imported tilapia batches must be accompanied by a certification of being free from TiLV virus.

Besides, on May 29, 2026, the Committee on Agriculture, Livestock, Supply and Rural Development under the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil approved Draft Law No. 6,331/2025 with content banning the import of this product. In addition, quarantine authorities in the two states of Pernambuco and Santa Catarina also promulgated decisions banning the circulation, distribution, and transshipment of tilapia originating from Vietnam.

The above moves raise anxieties over the risk of affecting the export activities of Vietnamese enterprises against a backdrop where Brazil is serving as the largest consumption market.

Brazil affirms the market remains open

Information at the meeting, Deputy Director of the SPS Vietnam Office Ngo Xuan Nam stated that the Vietnamese side had a technical exchange session with the Brazilian delegation on the sidelines of the meeting of the SPS Committee under the World Trade Organization (WTO).

According to the Brazilian side, Draft Law No. 6,331/2025 currently has only been approved by the Chamber of Deputies and does not yet possess legal force. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil also does not concur with the content of this draft law.

The representative of the Brazilian side affirmed that states do not possess the competence to promulgate regulations related to international trade. Therefore, the Brazilian market is still opening normally for imported tilapia products.

The two sides also unified to continue organizing technical meetings to review report evaluations on disease risks under WTO regulations. Currently, the Brazilian side is waiting for Vietnam to perfect and send the quarantine certificate template to continue the consideration process.

According to the evaluation of the SPS Vietnam Office, the enhancement of technical requirements primarily originates from the trend of protecting domestic seafood production in Brazil.

Enterprises bear cost pressure but export prices still rise

Representing enterprises, Mr. Doan Chi Thien, Deputy General Director of Nam Viet Group shared that additional inspection measures have directly impacted export activities.

According to Mr. Thien, multiple shipments have to be stored at ports for long periods to serve inspection work, causing enterprises to incur demurrage costs from 300 million VND to over 1 billion VND for each shipment. Besides, having to alter arrival ports also causes logistics costs to increase by at least 30%.

However, according to the enterprise representative, the supply source on the market remains restricted so tilapia export prices continue to maintain an upward tendency, contributing to reducing cost pressure.

Nam Viet currently is proactive across the entirety of specialized farming zones on the Mekong River basin. Although production costs remain around 8% higher compared to China, the enterprise is continuing to optimize the value chain, while concurrently researching investments in cold storage and breeding programs in Brazil aiming to construct long-term cooperation relationships with local partners.

Proactively preparing response solutions

Concluding the meeting, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vo Van Hung requested units to urgently deploy synchronously multiple solutions to both handle immediate difficulties and elevate the long-term competitive capacity of the tilapia industry.

First of all, the Deputy Minister directed the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance to coordinate with the Department of Livestock Production and Veterinary Medicine to soon perfect the national dossier on disease control in tilapia, particularly the surveillance work of TiLV virus. Data regarding farming zones, breeding stocks, and disease situations needs to be fully and transparently constructed to create a scientific and legal basis serving the negotiation process with import partners.

Concurrently, the Department of International Cooperation was assigned to lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to prepare exchange contents, soon send official diplomatic notes, and stand ready for direct dialogues with Brazilian functional authorities when necessary.

For enterprises, the Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development coordinates together with VASEP to guide the review of the entire production and processing processes, step up quality control, while proactively diversifying products and expanding export markets aiming to reduce reliance on a single market.

In the long term, the Deputy Minister requested the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance to construct a Development Scheme for the tilapia commodity sector in a methodical, modern direction, soon promulgating technical regulations appropriate for each farming method, overcoming small-scale, dispersed production situations.

According to Deputy Minister Vo Van Hung, proactively upgrading disease control capacities, standardizing production processes, and enhancing coordination among regulatory agencies, associations, and the enterprise community will not only help untie current trade barriers but also create a foundation to develop the tilapia industry in a sustainable direction, raising added value and realizing the target of turning tilapia into a billion-dollar export commodity sector by 2030.

Source: Tap chi Thuy san Viet Nam