Toan Dao has written about Vietnam’s business community, with a focus on energy and agriculture, for a number of Vietnamese and international outlets for more than 10 years. As a contributing editor for SeafoodSource in Southeast Asia, he also covers other major seafood producers in the region including Indonesia and Thailand.
Author Archive
Isopods have grown in popularity as a seafood delicacy in Vietnam over the past decade, and scientists say they have identified a new species in the nation’s waters.
The new species has been named Bathynomus vaderi, as its head resembles the distinctive helmet of Darth Vader from “Star Wars,” according to a release. Researchers have classified Bathynomus vaderi as a supergiant species, measuring up to around 13 inches in length
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According to a recent statement from Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), Vietnam and the United States have reached a bilateral agreement to resolve a longstanding trade dispute over antidumping duties on Vietnamese pangasius exports, ending a case that has been under review at the World Trade Organization (WTO) since 2018.
The deal, signed in the U.S. capital of Washington, D.C. on 17 January by representatives of MoIT and
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The International Development and Investment Corporation (IDI) – Vietnam’s leading pangasius exporter – has begun work on a green bond-financed seafood processing-plant in the Mekong Delta region.
The firm held a ceremony on 7 January to mark the start of construction on its new Hoa Ky plant, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said in a statement.
The plant, equipped with machinery sourced from
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The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) has warned that pangasius from Vietnam is encountering growing competition from domestically farmed fish in China.
In two statements made near the end of 2024, VASEP said China, including Hong Kong, remained Vietnam’s biggest pangasius importer in the first 11 months of 2024, buying over USD 500 million (EUR 485 million) worth of the fish – up 1 percent year over year
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Vietnam is expected to exceed its target of selling USD 9.5 billion (EUR 9 billion) worth of seafood exports this year, thanks in large part to growth in sales to the U.S. and China.
In early 2024, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said the country aims to earn USD 4 billion (EUR 3.8 billion) from shrimp exports, USD 1.9 billion (EUR 1.8 billion) from pangasius sales, and USD 3.6 billion (EUR 3.4 billion) from
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Samut Sakhon, Thailand-based Thai Union posted an all-time-high gross profit margin (GPM) and a surge in net profit in Q3 2024 two quarters after it exited the beleaguered U.S. restaurant chain Red Lobster, according to its latest results report.
Thai Union invested millions into Red Lobster in 2016 and then was part of a consortium that acquired it outright in 2020, aiming to find synergies on supply and marketing. After Red
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Vietnam has increased its pangasius exports to global markets during the first three quarters of 2024, with some of the largest growth seen in its shipments to the U.S.
The Southeast Asian nation shipped 670,000 metric tons (MT) of pangasius to global markets in the first nine months of 2024, representing a 15.5 percent increase year over year. The value of those exports in the period totaled USD 1.5 billion (EUR 1.4 billion), up 8 percent from
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Vietnam’s tuna industry is raising concerns about a new regulation aimed at protecting the lucrative stock.
In 2017, Vietnam approved an updated fisheries law as part of a broader effort to improve its marine resource protection and combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, after it received a yellow card from the European Commission.
In early 2024, the country's government issued a revision of the law to strengthen
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Samut Sakhon, Thailand-based Thai Union reported an increase in sales and profits in the second quarter of 2024 thanks to continued recovery in demand for a variety of its core product categories, according to the company’s latest results report released 7 August.
Thai Union’s sales in Q2 2024 rose to THB 35.3 billion (USD 990 million, EUR 907 million, which was up 3.6 percent year over year and 6.2 percent quarter over quarter. The
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The Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA), a Tarpon Springs, Florida, U.S.A.-based nonprofit representing the U.S. domestic shrimp industry’s interests, has praised the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) for its recent decision to maintain Vietnam's designation as a non-market economy.
Following nearly a year of review, the DOC announced on 2 August it will continue to classify Vietnam as a non-market economy, meaning that products exported from
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