Quang Ninh conquers the billion-people market, making billions of VND

Businesses and cooperatives are the nuclei

Having great potential and advantages in terms of aquaculture, Quang Ninh has marked this as a spearhead economic sector. But in order to effectively exploit such advantages, there is still a lot of work to be done. What are your thoughts about this statement?

Quang Ninh identifies businesses and cooperatives as the nucleus of marine economic development, especially in the field of marine farming. I also believe that enterprises must participate in the marine economic production model because there are many benefits.

First of all, the enterprise will acquire strength in organizational structure, system management, and cash flow management. Only when there is financial strength would businesses dare to spend money or borrow capital to invest in technology and assets, then take responsibility for managing the standard of products specifically export products. That is how the value of the seafood industry will increase.

Secondly, it is also easier for businesses from the perspective of state management, thereby building supportive policies on capital, credit, technology, and agricultural insurance policies. Without insurance, it is not possible to promote strong development in the industry.

Let’s take Israel for example. Insurance companies, in addition to infrastructure insurance, also cover production biomass (farm output) by monitoring the development process in each stage. Farming shrimps for 60 days but shrimps were dead because of disease, the insurance company will assess how much the 60-day-old shrimp costs, then offer a compensation price.

The fact that businesses are protected in the production process contributes to promoting investment in the fisheries sector, gradually raising the position of this high economic value and sustainable industry.

To create a large-scale commodity production industry that meets the requirements of production and export linkage, the role of enterprises is extremely important. What will Quang Ninh do to attract domestic and foreign business investment in this field, sir?

Quang Ninh organizes investment promotion in a professional, proactive manner, closely following practical demands, focusing on businesses and investors with financial capacity as well as scientific and technological level, production organization capable of leading the production chain as a nucleus in the project implementation area.

Quang Ninh’s top priority is to reform administrative procedures related to the entire investment process in the simplest and most convenient way for businesses; consistently and transparently implement policies and procedures for land lease; prioritize projects with high quality and added value; use advanced and clean technologies; create more jobs and support weak points in the province’s agricultural value chain.

Eyes on the billion-people market

Quang Ninh is a province adjacent to China, one of the large and advantageous markets. What will the province do to approach and exploit this market well, sir?

With a population of over 1.4 billion people accounting for approximately 18% of the world's total population, the demand for importing agricultural and aquatic products of the Chinese market in service of domestic consumption is very large and diverse. According to FAO, China's demand for seafood is increasing day by day, and it is forecasted that by 2030 China will account for 38% of global seafood consumption.

Quang Ninh is a province that shares the border with China, so both sides have a long-standing trade relationship, making it easier to grasp and understand the characteristics and needs of Chinese consumers. Quang Ninh has logistics services, a common point to transferring seafood exports of the province as well as other localities across the country to the Chinese market by land, sea and air. This market currently accounts for over 90% of the total seafood export turnover of the province.

One thing to add is that apart from the Chinese market, Vietnam has also signed new-generation free trade agreements (FTAs) with other countries and territories such as the EU, Japan, the USA, and ASEAN countries.

Building a world-class seafood logistics center

The Van Don airport cluster has long been known as a passenger transport hub, but its potential has not fully flourished. There is an opinion that Van Don port cluster should become a seafood logistics center. What would be your take on this matter?

Regarding policies, according to Project No. 1664/QD-TTg dated October 4, 2021 of the Prime Minister approving the “Project on development of marine aquaculture in the period 2021-2030, vision to 2045”, planning Quang Ninh to become a center for marine farming in the North, according to the Planning of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in Decision No. 80/QD-TTg dated February 11, 2023 of the Prime Minister.

In the present national logistics system, Vietnam has several types of logistics by sea, by air and by road. Within a radius of 2 - 4 hours per flight, it is possible to fly from Quang Ninh to major cities of China such as Chongqing, Chengdu, Wuhan, Beijing, Shanghai, which are currently very short of seafood supplies. Quang Ninh already has Van Don international airport (Van Don district), but now it is difficult to compete with Cat Bi Airport (Hai Phong city) in terms of passenger transport. Therefore, in the future, the better option is to turn Van Don airport into an air logistics center for Northeast Asia, not only for Quang Ninh but also for Vietnam's agro-product industry.

Along with that, a radius of 30 km around Van Don district will be planned to establish agro-product centers, production, processing and logistics centers, and a cold storage system, with a focus on Vietnamese seafood to meet the consumption demands in Northeast Asia.

Quang Ninh province is focusing on directing the organization of production, processing and logistics according to this strategy. With fiscal space to serve the construction of a processing industry cluster of nearly 10,000 ha, Quang Ninh will soon become a world-class seafood logistics center.

Thank you, sir!