The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has proposed creating a new fund to promote and support Vietnamese tra fish exports.

Under the plan, tra fish (pangasius) exporters will contribute 1-2 US cents on every kilogram of fish they sell to the fund, which will also receive local and international donations.

The fund will be used to promote the fish in the US and EU markets and develop strategies to protect Vietnamese exporters against false safety allegations and unfair trade barriers.

Vietnam is the supplier of more than 95 percent of tra fish on the global market with an annual output of 1.5 million tons, the Vietnam Economic Times reported last week, citing the national seacooking association.

The World Wildlife Fund last year blacklisted Vietnam’s tra fish in a consumer guide published in several EU countries. Although the organization later removed the fish from its “red list”, consumption of Vietnamese tra fish in Europe has been negatively affected.

Meanwhile, the US Department of Commerce has recently cut anti-dumping taxes on tra fish imported from some Vietnamese companies to zero percent, compared to a previously proposed tax rate of 130 percent.