Sea grapes have great potential to export to the India market

On March 2, the business delegation of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) paid a visit to the sea grapes factory of DT Khanh Hoa Seaweed JSC (DT Group) in Cat Loi village, Vinh Luong commune, Nha Trang City (Khanh Hoa).

Mr. Nguyen Quang Duy, CEO of DT Group, introduced Indian businesses to the process of growing, processing and exporting sea grapes. DT Group is one of the first enterprises to develop seaweed farming in Vietnam. This sea grape variety originated in Japan was introduced to Vietnam in 2004 and successfully grown in Khanh Hoa. The province’s sea area is a deep, clean and sealed bay with high salinity, which poses a great advantage for the growth of many types of high-value seaweed.

With more than 10 years of operation in the field of sea grapes cultivation, up to now, DT Group has built a raw material area of more than 75 ha, confirmed by the Vietnam Records Organization to have the largest cultivation area and yield of Japanese sea grapes in Vietnam in 2020.

80% of the cultivation area is linked with more than 70 farming households in Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen and Ninh Thuan provinces. Regarding future orientation, DT Group will continue to expand the raw material area to meet the needs of processing and export. DT Group has also built a processing and packaging facility with a total area of 8,000 m2, equipped with a methodical product preservation system. This area helps create stable jobs for 150 local workers with an average salary of VND 5 to 10 million/person/month.

According to Mr. Nguyen Quang Duy, in addition to dehydrated seaweed products, DT Group also develops more product lines such as dried seaweed, seaweed snacks and seaweed seasoning to help improve product diversity and increase value. All of these products are very suitable for vegetarians.

“DT Group's seaweed products are HACCP certified. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also confirms the products meet food safety standards. Dehydrated sea grape products are exported to the USA market, while fresh sea grapes are mainly exported to Japan. As for the India market, DT Group is currently looking for agents, distributors or joint ventures," said Mr. Duy.

Having a conversation with Vietnam Agriculture News about the market for sea grapes in India, Mr. Sandeep Tandon, Director of IndiaHub, said, “There was not a large space for sea grapes in the India market at the moment, but this product holds great potential. India has a large proportion of vegetarians within the population, while the introduced sea grapes product has high nutritional value. It will be good for the health of our people.”

According to Mr. Sandeep Tandon, the income of the Indian people has increased in present, the elite appears more and more, so the sea grape products exported to this country must also be high-class products.

Mr. Sandip Acharya, CEO of Venable, also gave high praises when trying sea grapes for the first time at DT Group. But in order to bring this product into the India market, Mr. Sandip Acharya deemed it necessary to adjust the flavor to suit the Indian people’s taste. “Indians usually consume food along with a lot of spices. If we want to develop sea grape brands in India, both parties require further discussion to deepen our cooperation.”

DT Group's technology for producing dehydrated grape seaweed has certain differences when compared to products in the market. The packaged products account for 80% of sea grapes, and the rest is brine. The product has a shelf life of up to 12 months without losing the taste and nutrition the seaweed contains.

In terms of nutritional value, sea grapes are high in protein, calcium and unsaturated fatty acids found in the omega 3 group (DHA, EPA, ALA), which prove to be very beneficial to consumer’s health. Using seaweed daily can help regulate blood sugar, reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, help improve bone and joint syndromes.