Turning Vietnam into the world’s leading seafood processing center

Vietnam’s Prime Minister has given the green light on the national project to develop the seafood processing industry throughout the period of 2021-2030, which sets the goal to transform the industry into that of a modern, efficient, and sustainable one; which can meet both national and international consumption needs, increase competitiveness and comprehensively integrate into the global value chain. The vision for the project puts Vietnam into the top 5 seafood processing centers in the world by the turn of the new decade.

Throughout the 10-year period, the industry looks to achieve a growth rate of over 6% annually; in which value-added seafood processing will present over 40% on average of the overall export value. Furthermore, over 70% of seafood processing facilities will reach production capability from medium to advanced set by international standards. Domestic consumption of processed seafood is expected to reach 2 billion USD, contributing to the total seafood turnover of about 14-16 billion USD.

The specific missions for the industry laid out in the project include:

-To implement traceability into aquaculture for the development and monitoring of raw material sources for value-added processing.

-To attract investment and improve productivity, quality, and efficiency through operational inputs from international businesses and organizations.

-To accelerate high value-added processing for strategic product groups (shrimp, pangasius, tuna).

-To maximize the capitalization of current strategic markets and further develop new consumption markets both nationally and internationally.

-To completely reorganize the production value chain: wild capture, aquaculture farming, raw material procurement, logistics, processing, and consumption; meeting the international requirements on raw material sourcing management, quality, food safety, and product traceability.