Vietnam Association Concludes EU-funded Sustainable Pangasius Supply Chain

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) coordinated with its partners to review a project establishing a sustainable pangasius supply chain in Ho Chi Minh City on Mar 29. The project, financed by the EU under the EU SWITCH-Asia Program and implemented in the Mekong Delta from April 2013 to March 2017, aimed to raise the competitiveness of Vietnam’s pangasius industry in the global market, mitigate negative impacts on the environment, and promote responsible production. Vice President of the Hanoi University of Science and Technology Tran Van Top said the project has supported over 50 businesses, 120 breeding areas, 130 households, and 12 cooperatives as well as attracted nearly 3,000 people to its training programs and technical workshops. The project focused on training farmers in how to increase the rate of living fish and reduce feed costs and pollution, thus cutting production costs by 7%-10%. It also helped 33 breeding regions and cooperatives to receive international sustainable aquaculture certificates. Over 70 processing factories received training in cleaner production and energy saving, thus cutting electricity costs by 18%-20% and water usage by 26%-30%, and reducing over 21,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually. Coordinator of the project Le Xuan Thinh said the project has enabled Vietnamese pangasius export companies to create 20 new products to serve European customers. To put an end to the smear campaign of Vietnamese pangasius, the project management board has proposed building a quick information response center on seafood market in general and pangasius in particular. (Vietnam News Agency Mar 30)