Let’s start from the beginning. Vietnam represents an important market for U.S. soybeans. U.S. soybean and soybean meal exports to Vietnam totaled nearly $100 million in 2008 and are on the rise. U.S. exports of soybean meal climbed from just 17,469 metric tons in 2004 to almost 115,000 metric tons in 2008, a 558% increase.

Much of this soybean meal is sold to Vietnamese fish farmers who use it to feed their pangasius fish. Similarly, U.S. soybean exports rose from just 380 metric tons in 2004 to over 95,000 metric tons in 2008, representing a massive 25,000% gain in U.S. soybean exports.

If the special interest lobbyists for the U.S. catfish industry have their way the pangasius fish will be barred from the U.S. and Illinois’ soy can kiss that lucrative Vietnamese market goodbye.

The U.S. catfish industry wants to snuff out its pangasius competition by switching the fish’s inspection from FDA to USDA, a move that won’t make the food any safer but will present beaurocratic and regulatory roadblocks that will keep it out of this country. It’s a move that benefits the bottom feeding lobbyists for the U.S. catfish industry but hurts Illinois farmers.

For starters Illinois misses out on an already lucrative soy market and would be excluded from the benefits of feeding Vietnam’s fast-growing industry. Not to mention becoming collateral damage in a potential trade war started by the catfish folks who sit back and enjoy the benefits of their competition being barred while Illinois farmers feel the pain.

The irony is, even the Agriculture Department itself recognizes how important Vietnam is to U.S. agricultural commerce. This is how the USDA categorizes trade with Vietnam; “U.S. agricultural exports to Vietnam rose to $623.3 million in 2007, an increase of 110 percent; and in 2008 our agricultural exports to Vietnam broke the $1 billion mark, increasing 68 percent over the previous year. Vietnam has become a significant market for U.S. agricultural products and among the top markets for some commodities.”

A “top market” that according to a letter from the Vietnamese Ambassador to members of Congress, fears this fish fight could, “significantly impact bilateral relations” and call into question U.S. trade commitments.

It doesn’t take much to connect the dots: Vietnamese fish excluded from U.S. markets- U.S. soy excluded from Vietnamese markets. Catfish lobbyists win, Illinois soy farmers lose.

Bottom feeding at its worst.

Senator Durbin has been a leader in food safety and is helping FDA rebuild its reputation. Let’s not undercut this important work.