Vietnamese firm KLC Seafood recently unveiled a new aquaculture cooperative, aiming to strengthen its live seafood supply chain serving key Asian markets, including China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
KLC Seafood operates approximately 884 hectares of affiliated farming areas across the country’s Cam Ranh, Van Ninh, and Song Cau provinces, and the new KLC Dai Duong XI Aquaculture and Tourism Cooperative, located in the central province of Khanh Hoa, will help the company organize supplies, improve traceability, and strengthen quality control at the farming level.
The cooperative will bring together more than 120 members and help connect local farmers with KLC Seafood's procurement, quality control, logistics, and export capabilities, a company representative told SeafoodSource, adding that the new venture would help secure more reliable supplies of live seafood, for which handling, transport conditions, and delivery times are critical to maintaining product quality.
The cooperative aims to focus on high-value marine products, with lobster species such as green lobster and ornate spiny lobster among its priority offerings. Other products likely to be involved in the cooperative include grouper and spotted babylon snails.
During the launch event, KLC Seafood signed a memorandum of understanding with a Chinese partner to develop commercial ties and promote Vietnamese seafood exports to China. The agreement, according to the firm, will help KLC Seafood expand its network of trading partners in China, but specific sales volumes and financial commitments were not disclosed.
China is one of KLC Seafood's priority international markets, particularly for live green and ornate spiny lobsters.
Despite the rise of e-commerce in the country, a Global Seafood Alliance survey from last year found that live seafood – typically purchased from tanks at wet markets – remains the first choice of how Chinese consumers prefer to buy their seafood, with 72.8 percent of those surveyed saying that’s their preference.
According to company figures cited by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), KLC Seafood has been able to capitalize on that continued preference, with export value totaling USD 85.9 million (EUR 80 million) in the first five months of 2026. Phat Loi, a subsidiary of KLC Seafood, recorded USD 83 million (EUR 74.2 million) in exports over the same period.
KLC Seafood said its affiliated supply network has an annual seafood supply capacity of approximately 12,000 metric tons (MT).
