Foreign investors attempt to set foot in Vietnam’s seafood industry

An Iceland-based seafood company has bought back a catfish processing factory in Vietnam. Other foreign investors have also taken first steps to jump into the industry.

According to Agroinfo, a farm produce market survey firm, Portunas is seeking the opportunities to support the sustainable development of Vietnam’s seafood industry. Pálmi Pálmason, Chief Executive Officer of Portunas, said that Vietnam’s total annual seafood output is about 4 million dong and the output may be even higher if Vietnam applies the exploitation and processing technologies which are being applied in Iceland.

Some analysts believe that Vietnam can increase its seafood output by two folds if it applies specialized production methods.

Vietnam’s seafood industry proves to be lagging behind that in Iceland, which makes Icelandic people believe that they have great opportunities in Vietnam once they apply their modern technologies in the country

Vietnam is clearly rich in aquatic resources, especially in aquaculture, the field that Portunas wants to invest in.

Catfish (tra and basa fish) and shrimp are considered the two species popularly farmed in Vietnam. However, Marine Farms, a Norwegian company, decided to invest in a cobia production factory in Vietnam. The company now owns a cobia production line in the central region which has been operating since 2005.

The white-meat fish are mostly exploited in Asia and warmly welcomed by the US importers. Marine Farms has also begun farming scads, a very popular fish species in Asia.

The production of bivalve aquatic species has also been developing well. The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) last week said that the clam and scallop growing areas in Mekong Delta provinces is believed to increase by three times in the next four years, and by four times in the next 9 years.

Earlier this year, a Danish investment group, joining forces with a Vietnamese commercial bank, provided a financial support to build and install necessary equipment at a collagen making factory, which will use the byproducts from the tra fish processing of Bianfishco.

Another Danish company has also revealed that it is considering setting up a factory in Vietnam in order to take full advantage of the Vietnamese cheap labor force. The factory will process cod and pollock products for re-export.

Before making investment in the seafood processing industry, foreign investors have also been injecting money in the aquaculture and aquatic feed production.

Thai CP Group, for example, has been developing its network of farms and establishments that make feed for shrimp, the most valuable aquatic product of Vietnam. Meanwhile, Chinese companies have also invested in shrimp processing factories, while joining hands with Vietnamese companies to expand the market share. Especially, many of them are hunting for the shares of the seafood companies listed on the bourses.

According to Nguoi lao dong, Uni-President Vietnam now has three factories that make aquatic feed with the output of 300,000 tons a year. The company is investing 20 million dollars to build one more feed factory in Quang Nam province, which is expected to have the capacity of 100,000 tons per year.

Besides, Chinese vessels and boats have been running along the Vietnamese coastlines to collect fish, shrimp and cuttle fish caught by Vietnamese farmers. The materials are being processed directly in Vietnam or brought back to China for processing.

A Japanese importer, who usually buys seafood products from Agrex Saigon Company, now has a list of high grade seafood product suppliers. A factory named GN (Gift of Nature) Foods, has just been built, which specializes in making high grade seafood products.

Analysts believe that Vietnam’s fisheries industry, which has been developing strongly over the last 20 years, will become even stronger with the foreign investment.

Tags: Vietnam Seafood, Vietnam seafood sector