Businesses and fishermen cooperate to build tuna consumption chain

According to Tran Van Phuc, Director of Binh Dinh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Binh Dinh Province has implemented the pilot project of exploiting, purchasing, processing and consuming tuna chain according to the decision issued on August 6, 2014 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and a cooperation plan between the provincial People's Committee and the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Association in Sakai, Japan.

With the aim of developing tuna fishing, Binh Dinh Provincial People's Committee and Japan International Cooperation Agency in Vietnam (JICA-Vietnam) have signed a memorandum of transferring Japanese technology and specialised equipment so that the province could create a chain of exploiting, preserving and exporting tuna to Japan.

Besides, the Japanese specialists have also joined fishing with local fishermen to give direct instructions. The voyage included 17 crew members on three Binh Dinh fishing vessels, six technical staff of Binh Dinh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and four Japanese specialists.

“After that voyage, not only the directly-participating fishermen but also the officers of Binh Dinh fisheries grasped the practical experience of applying new technology in catching tuna and passed such experience to other local fishermen of vessels specialised in catching tuna in the province,” Phuc said.

In fact, the chain of exploiting tune applying Japanese technology from 2015-2017 helped fishermen in Binh Dinh to master the application of science and technology in processing and producing the seafood.

“Most of the tuna fishing vessels in the area are currently applying Japanese technology such as using Tuna Shocker machine to faint fish, preserving fish by releasing blood and taking out the organs before storing in the ice cellar, which have significantly improved the fish quality,” said fisherman Pham Van Hat in Hoai Hai commune in Hoai Nhon town.

Though the product quality has increased, its price has remained unstable for a long time due to the shortage of linkage from exploitation to consumption between fishermen and businesses, limiting the production efficiency.

Solution

In early 2021, Binh Dinh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development coordinated with Mai Tin Food Co., Ltd., a 100 per cent Japanese-owned enterprise based in Khanh Hoa Province, to build a project on the chain of tuna production and consumption.

According to Tran Van Phuc, Director of Binh Dinh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the implementation of the project is based on the decision of the Provincial People's Committee on implementing the policy of association and consumption of agricultural products in the province according to Decree 98/2018 / ND-CP of the Government.

“The goal is to build a sustainable link chain, ensure stable output and high price. In addition to increasing income, other goals include increasing the value of the brand "Binh Dinh tuna", creating a stable source of quality raw materials and meeting the demands of enterprises”, he added.

According to Phuc, 30 tuna fishing vessels of Hoai Nhon Town are participating in the project. They have received support in training, technology and funding to exploit and preserve products according to Japanese technology by the People's Committee.

The businesses involved in the project will purchase all tuna exploited in the area under the contract signed with the vessels’ owners.

The project has been completed by now. Mai Tin Food Company has built a factory in Nhon Hoi Economic Zone (Quy Nhon City, Binh Dinh) with a capacity of 8,000 tons / year.

However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the factory has not been operated yet. The company is therefore having the tuna purchased from Binh Dinh processed at their factory located in Cam Ranh, Khanh Hoa Province.

Tuna caught by Binh Dinh fishermen has always been purchased at a higher price than the one being sold on the market. Tuna type A is purchased at over 15,000 VND / kg and type B at over 2,000 VND / kg.

The annual output of tuna in Binh Dinh is more than 11,000 tons, 8,000 tons of which is processed at the factory of Mai Tin Food Company alone.