Ba Ba Hoi braised scad brand is officially distributed in the US

High quality exports

Quang Nam province is home to a vibrant culture that blends elements of Northern and Southern Vietnam, including a world-class culinary culture. As a result, many local organizations and businesses have boldly established their brands in order to introduce local specialty products to domestic and international consumers. Accordingly, Ba Ba Hoi Agricultural Processing Cooperative in Tam Ky City, Quang Nam province is an unit that has utilized the the province's key strengths.

Ba Ba Hoi Agricultural Processing Cooperative was established in 2021 with the goal of promoting key products manufactured by Ba Ba Hoi business households. The cooperative initially specialized in producing chung cake, to cake, tet ash cake, and it cake from the Quang Nam province's specialty glutinous rice.

The cooperative has since expanded their product range to include scad and other seafood caught on local fishing grounds, and processed following the traditional Quang Nam recipe. Thanks to the application of modern scientific and technological advances in the production process, some of the cooperative's products have been recognized for meeting the national agricultural and rural standards.

After nearly three years in operation, the cooperative's products have reached multiple markets around the world through major sales channels in Vietnam such as BigC, Coopmart, Winmart, etc. In addition, other cooperative's products have reached the Vietnamese community in many countries around the world including South Korea, Russia, Japan, and Singapore.

With beautiful designs and compliance with the strict requirements on food hygiene and safety, products manufactured by Ba Ba Hoi cooperative are popular with many customers. After numeroes trade promotion activities in Quang Nam province, LNS International Joint Stock Company contacted the cooperative in April 2023 to cooperate and distribute Ba Ba Hoi scad products in the US market.

According to Ms. Huynh Thi Thu Thuy, Deputy Director of Ba Ba Hoi Cooperative, braised scad is a dish made from fresh scad purchased by at Tam Quang fishing port, which is one of the largest fishing ports in the Central region. As a result, this product features high quality as well as transparent traceability.

The scad is preliminarily processed immediately after purchasing at the factory in Tam Quang commune Nui Thanh district. Subsequently, the fish is frozen and transported to a processing facility in Tam Ky city for the seasoning, braising, and packaging stages that ensure food safety and hygiene standards. Ba Ba Hoi scad has been distributed in several major supermarkets across the country. As a convenient and ready-to-use food, this product has been relatively popular with domestic consumers.

“In order to preserve the traditional taste, we have to follow manual processes. Additionally, we apply the most advanced technologies in our production processes to ensure that the final product is contamination-free. The processing area must be disinfected at least three times per day. Ba Ba Hoi Cooperative aims to not only create high-quality products, but to also ensure the health of its employees and the consumers”, emphasized Ms. Thuy.

Bringing additional agricultural products to the international market

According to Ba Ba Hoi Agricultural Processing Cooperative, before being officially exported to the US in compliance with the regulations by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the braised scad product must register for an FDA code; pass component analysis testing of product criteria at prestigious testing laboratories around the world such as SGS; register for a FCE/SID code for packaged products with acidic ingredients and implement a food safety plan; correctly label in in compliance with FDA regulation.

Subsequently, a ceremony was recently held in Tam Ky city, Quang Nam province to hand over the first 10 tons of Ba Ba Hoi scad for official export to the US market between Ba Ba Hoi Agricultural Processing Cooperative and LNS International Joint Stock Company. This shipment will be exported through the seaport in Ho Chi Minh City to consumers in the US.

According to Ms. Thuy, the cooperative will send a 30-ton shipment to LNS International Joint Stock Company after the handover ceremony. In addition, LNS is assisting the cooperative in bringing Ba Ba Hoi scad products to Japan, Australia, Singapore and Europe. Ba Ba Hoi Agricultural Processing Cooperative is expected to supply at least 60 tons of braised scad to LNS by the end of the year.

"There is a considerable demand for the cooperative's products on the global market. However, the cooperative can only produce roughly 400 kilograms of fish per day. As a result, LNS has committed to supporting the cooperative in expanding its production and processing scale with the most modern European technologies. Ba Ba Hoi Cooperative aims to become a central cooperative specializing in specialty products from central provinces such as Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Quang Binh, and the Central Highlands within in the next three to five years. We are currently promoting to export two additional products to the global market, namely chung cake and fresh Quang noodles, which will hopefully reach international consumers in 2023”, said Ms. Thuy.

According to Mr. Ho Hung, Regional Director of LNS International Joint Stock Company, the official export of braised scad to the US contributes greatly to the local agricultural sector as welll as the development of Ba Ba Hoi Cooperative.

The US is currently the largest market for agricultural, food and seafood products in the world. Consequently, the official export of Ba Ba Hoi Cooperative's agricultural products to the US will create more opportunities and help additional local businesses access this major market.

“LNS pays special attention to the needs of overseas Vietnamese. We want to help the Vietnamese community fully enjoy the taste of Vietnamese products abroad. We hope that the product will reach consumers worldwide after being distributed in the US market", shared Mr. Hung.

LNS has cooperated with LV Food Supply, a company with over 20 years of experence in importing and distributing Vietnamese products in the US market. As a strategic shareholder of LNS, LV Food Supply has been developing a distribution system in nearly forty states across the US with over 1,000 products from Vietnam and other countries. These special and unique products include conveniently packaged regional products, Vietnamese fruit products as well as seafood products with the CT Choice brand. In addition to the head office located in the UnS, LNS has offices in Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.