A fire at a seafood processing factory in the Southern Vietnamese province of Vinh Long has caused damage exceeding VND 162 billion (USD 6.2 million, EUR 5.4 million).
According to the Voice of Vietnam (VOV), the fire broke out around 1 a.m. on 29 June at a value-added plant owned by Go Dang Joint Stock Company (Godaco). The blaze impacted the facility’s main workshop area, which spans nearly 9,000 square meters.
First responders from the Vinh Long Provincial Police Department's fire and rescue team managed to contain the fire early, preventing it from spreading to neighboring businesses. The fire continued to smolder until around 11 a.m. the same day.
Damage to 542 metric tons (MT) of goods inside the factory accounted for an estimated VND 57.8 billion (USD 2.2 million, EUR 1.9 million) share of the losses.
No cause for the fire has been determined yet, and police investigations remain ongoing, VOV reported.
In response to the incident, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) issued a dispatch to all of its member companies, delivering an urgent fire safety warning to the wider industry.
“In light of this situation and with the aim of proactively preventing and minimizing the risk of fire and explosion, the association respectfully requests that member enterprises conduct a comprehensive review of their fire prevention and firefighting measures,” VASEP said. “This should be treated as a key component of risk management and safe production operations.”
As part of that review, the association urged all member businesses to immediately review their electrical grids, upgrade early-detection fire systems, and reinforce emergency response plans to prevent production disruptions and secure supply chains.
Godaco said on its website that the affected facility was commissioned in 2016 with a total investment exceeding USD 30 million (EUR 26.2 million). The plant produces more than 70 value-added product lines using pangasius and other materials – including breaded, marinated, tempura, karaage, kabayaki, and panko products – and it has an annual production capacity of over 10,000 MT alongside a cold storage capacity of 5,000 MT.
Apart from the affected facility, Godaco's processing infrastructure comprises three pangasius processing plants; a clam processing plant; a tilapia, clam, and pangasius processing plant; an aquafeed mill; and a byproduct processing plant.
