Members of WWF in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Norway and Denmark have issued a consumer guide, placing some of Vietnam’s pangasius products on a ‘red list’ of products that people should not consume because of unsustainable farming practices.

European markets currently make up almost 37% of pangasius exports from companies in Vietnam.

The impact on exports will be unavoidable, confirmed Nguyen Huu Dung, vice chairman of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (Vasep). Those companies which have not met the Global GAP standard would definitely be impacted, he added.

Dung said 20 companies have met the international Global GAP standard, accounting for between 17% and 20% of Vietnam’s pangasius farming area.