China’s Yuehai Feeds Group has begun work on the first phase of a new aquaculture feed mill in southern Vietnam. The plant will be located on a 5-hectare plot in Vinh Long Province along the Mekong Delta, a hub of aquaculture production in Vietnam.
The facility will cost VND 500 billion (USD 19.8 million, EUR 18.4 million) to complete, according to a 26 April statement issued by the project’s main contractor: the Sonadezi Construction Shareholding Company. Upon completion, the plant will have an annual capacity of 100,000 metric tons (MT) of aquafeed, including 30,000 MT of shrimp feed and 70,000 MT of fish feed, Viet Nam Fisheries Magazine reported on 3 May.
The plant’s capacity can be doubled to 200,000 MT per year with additional phases of construction, according to the company. During a ceremony marking the commencement of construction, a representative from Yuehai highlighted Vietnam's advantageous position in aquaculture development, citing favorable climate conditions, extensive coastlines, and strategic geographical positioning for global seafood trade.
Yuehai was established in 1994 and is based in China’s Guangdong province. The company has expanded its operations to include over 20 subsidiary companies across various provinces in China, including Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, as well as overseas operations, including a division in Vietnam. As of December 2021, it had a workforce exceeding 3,400 employees.
Another Chinese aquafeed manufacturer, Sheng Long Bio-Tech International, which is a subsidiary of China’s Guangdong Haid Group, in May 2022 put into operation a new aquafeed plant in Vinh Long, another province along the Mekong Delta. The factory costs VND 467 billion (USD 18.5 million, EUR 17.2 million) to construct and can produce 150,000 MT of aquafeeds annually.
To seize the opportunities and meet the challenges, the Vietnamese government has enacted a series of policy mechanisms to promote the sustainable development of fisheries, such as the Strategy for Fisheries Development in Viet Nam up to 2030 and Vision 2045, the National Plan for Sustainable and Efficient Development of Fisheries, the Proposal for Environmental Protection in Fisheries Activities in 2021-2030, and the Proposal for“Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU)“.