Enhance the value of processed seafood

(Baonghean) - With an output of over 110 thousand tons of seafood per year, Nghe An has the potential to develop the seafood processing sector, thereby continuing to promote the exploitation sector more and more effectively. However, in order to process appropriately, in the face of increasingly high market demands in the context of economic integration, Nghe An's seafood products are facing significant challenges.

Food safety and hygiene problems

With 1,200 boats, including nearly 700 offshore fishing boats, Quynh Luu district alone has an annual catch of over 50 thousand tons of seafood. 30 - 40% of Quynh Luu's seafood output is for on-site processing and a small amount is frozen; the rest is consumed fresh on the market. In Quynh Luu district, there are two concentrated seafood processing points: Tan An (An Hoa) area and Quynh Luu Seafood Processing Company. According to Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dinh, Head of the district's Agriculture Department, the production of craft villages is traditional, following a "family" process, making it difficult to build a brand and promote products. Meanwhile, the designs are not eye-catching and monotonous, making consumption difficult.

Preserving tuna after catching in Nghi Hai ward (Cua Lo town). Photo: Truong Sinh

In processing, at Phu Loi Fish Sauce Craft Village (Quynh Di Ward - Hoang Mai Town), with main products being fish sauce, shrimp paste, steamed and dried fish, there are 515 households participating, of which 151 households produce effectively. The products of this craft village are still famous for their delicious taste, but they are only consumed in the domestic market, mainly sold to regular customers, not yet in large restaurants and supermarkets, so it is difficult to talk about processing for export. Mr. Nguyen Duc Xan, Chairman of the Craft Village Association of Quynh Di Ward, said: The craft village produces over 3 million liters of fish sauce, 350 - 400 tons of shrimp paste/year, but only less than 10 households have a stable consumption network. Referring to the strategy of building a brand and improving export products, local officials as well as craft villagers all admit that one of the major difficulties is ensuring food hygiene and safety.

High product cost and “VietGAP solution”

In the current competitive requirements, Nghe An's aquatic and seafood products, in addition to not ensuring quality and food safety, price is one of the many disadvantages. Due to small-scale and fragmented production, the cost of our aquatic and seafood products is still quite high. The reason is that feed and breeds are still high compared to other countries. Feed used in aquaculture is currently mainly imported or supplied by foreign companies in joint ventures, with exclusive prices, some production facilities in Vietnam are still small and insignificant. According to calculations, the cost of 1 kg of shrimp in Vietnam if not practicing Vietgap farming process is up to 70 - 80 thousand VND/kg, while in India it is only 40 thousand VND/kg.

According to Mr. Tran Huu Tien, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, VietGAP farming models are a very important solution in reducing product costs. In May 2014, Mr. Nguyen Cuong's family in Dien Trung commune (Dien Chau) was selected to receive support to build a white-leg shrimp farming model applying VietGAP procedures. The shrimp were taken from a qualified shrimp supplier, quarantined before being released, and the feed was also purchased from a reputable and quality-assured agent. In his diary, he carefully recorded all stages from farming to post-harvest pond treatment. After 3 months, on an area of ​​4,000m2, his family earned 4.3 quintals of shrimp, selling for a profit of nearly 260 million VND after deducting expenses. The entire Dien Trung commune (Dien Chau) has 37.5 hectares of intensive shrimp farming. According to Mr. Dau Ngoc Hoa - Head of the Agricultural Extension Department of Dien Trung Commune, in 2013, the commune planned a biosafety zone, established a community group with a convention to do VietGAP with 12 participating households on an area of ​​20 hectares. The biosafety farming area was built to ensure infrastructure, with a separate water supply and drainage canal system, no discharge into the environment, and farming according to technical processes. Thanks to that, the productivity is about 20% higher than other mass farming areas.

Processing fish sauce at Phu Loi fish sauce village (Quynh Dy ward - Hoang Mai town).

In 2013, from the coastal resources for sustainable development project in Nghe An (CRSD), Nghe An has built 7 shrimp farming areas applying VietGAP to ensure biosafety for 172 farming households on a total area of ​​185 hectares in Dien Trung (Dien Chau); Quynh Thanh, Quynh Bang, Quynh Yen (Quynh Luu) and Quynh Loc, Quynh Xuan, Quynh Di (Hoang Mai Town). Here, 8 households were selected for the project to support the construction of a VietGAP biosafety farming model. In addition to being guided on technical farming processes to ensure disease safety, people can also participate in community groups with regulations to strictly handle violations in environmental protection and farming area management; thereby limiting the discharge of untreated sludge and pathogenic water into the common environment...

In addition to policies to support fishermen in building offshore fishing boats and investing in food safety systems, our province is also investing in and upgrading fishing ports. In addition to Lach Van, which has been built to international standards on food safety and hygiene, Cua Hoi Fishing Port and Lach Con Fishing Port are also preparing to be upgraded and built in this direction, in which Cua Hoi Fishing Port is expected to start construction at the end of this year; Lach Quen Port is also preparing to be invested in upgrading and expanding its scale. These will be steps to help Nghe An's seafood industry gradually overcome shortcomings and weaknesses, moving towards integration and competition.

Phu Huong