Vietnam, many observers say, is the new tiger of Asia, a rising power of international commerce that appears fast-tracked for further growth despite the global economic crisis. More than two decades since the implementation of doi moi (economic reform) in the mid-'80s, a mandate that followed a turbulent post-war period, Vietnam's ambition is apparent in its explosive pangasius industry, the main reason I'm here.
I have spent several days in the steamy Mekong Delta region in southern Vietnam, the fertile breeding grounds for tra, a catfish-like species raised almost exclusively for export. In the southern province of Can Tho, there are more than a dozen tra producers - Cafish, Caseamex, Truong Nguyen and others - in the Khu Cong Nghiop Tra Noc industrial park alone. It is a bustling hub of activity. By far the most impressive is the Binh An facility, or Bianfishco, owned by billionaire businesswoman and philanthropist Madame Dieu Hien, arguably the richest person in the country (she also owns a successful land-development and construction company that bears her name).
The sprawling Binh An complex includes an opulent office building replete with marble statues and intricate hand-carved teak furniture, about 20 hectare-sized tra ponds on the opposite side of the adjacent Hau River and a $30 million plant where some 4,000 workers man the processing line on three shifts to trim fillets by hand. They are paid some of the highest salaries the local industry offers and are treated like family to prepare frozen fillets for discriminating customers in Europe and North America. It is not the most productive facility in Vietnam - the plant can move up to 200 metric tons of raw material each day, says Vi Tran Tan Nang, director of the trading department, - but it prides itself on high quality, sorting fillets according to color (white, pink or yellow). In fact, its slogan is "We Do Quality."
Bianfishco is seeking new relationships with U.S. buyers. Minneapolis-based Cargill supplies the company's feed and is the U.S. distributor. Currently, about 70 percent of Bianfishco's tra goes to Europe, while approximately 20 percent is destined for the United States. On the day of my visit, the plant was preparing frozen tra fillets bound for Italy.
It is a boom time for the pangasius industry as a whole ?" the fish can be raised to market size in just six months and thrives in warm water. In 2007, the year of the golden pig, countrywide tra production increased from approximately 700,000 metric tons to about 1.5 million metric tons, trailing only shrimp in terms of volume and value.
However, the industry is not free of obstacles, sanitation standards are not uniform, nor are working conditions, and it must get a firmer grasp of feed-conversion ratios. But the tremendous strides taken in just the last five years inspire confidence that the proper steps will be taken. For instance, several companies here, I'm told, are seeking third-party certification for food-safety standards.
With increasing demand for whitefish resources, seafood buyers worldwide will look to places like Vietnam's Mekong Delta for product. And Vietnam, by all indications, will be ready.
