Vietnamese mollusks conquer fastidious market

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Clam processing and packaging line for export of Lenger Vietnam Seafood Co., Ltd. Photo: K.D

Many orders of canned clam meat

Last November, the first container of canned clam meat was exported to the EU by Lenger Vietnam Seafood Co., Ltd. This is a good sign that the enterprise has controlled the farming area, source of raw materials, and modern production processes to ensure the quality meets the strict standards of the market.

Ms. Lo Thi Kim Dung, Import-Export Department, Lenger Vietnam Seafood Co., Ltd. said that the company has many orders to export clam meat to the EU market, so the company is trying to standardize raw materials for export in early 2022 according to partners' orders.

After the first export container explored the EU market in November 2021, Lenger Vietnam Fisheries Co., Ltd continued to perfect the production line, actively looking for potential customers for this canned clam meat product in Japan, Korea and Russia.

Lenger Seafood Vietnam Co., Ltd is a 100% foreign owned enterprise, a member of Lenger Seafoods Group, Netherlands. After more than ten years of being licensed to invest in Vietnam, Lenger Vietnam Seafood Co., Ltd. has been successful in farming, exploiting, catching, processing and trading in domestic and export clams and fresh, frozen and canned bivalve molluscs.

According to Lenger Vietnam Seafood Co., Ltd., in order to meet the strict export market, the company invests in modern, well-equipped clam cleaning and processing lines for fresh, frozen and canned clams, advanced machines and equipment ensure the quality of products processed from clams meeting international standards.

The factory of Lenger Vietnam Seafood Co., Ltd. is annually appraised and granted FSSC 22000 (Food Safety System) certificate by SGS organization with Halal certification. Not only export products, but clam products sold in the country are granted the Vietnam Gold Quality Certificate of Fisheries by the Vietnam Fisheries Association, High-quality Vietnamese goods - integration standards issued by the Vietnam Fisheries Business Association of Vietnam premium quality.

Potential market

In addition to Lenger Vietnam Seafood Co., Ltd., there are a number of large companies exporting clams to the EU with large turnover, such as: Thanh Hoa Seafood Import-Export Joint Stock Company, Minh Dang Co., Ltd., Thai Binh Clam Co., Ltd. Viet Long Kien Giang Co., Ltd, Ben Tre Seafood Joint Stock Company.

Currently, companies are taking advantage of available domestic raw materials, increasing exports, especially to the EU market.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), the EU is the largest import market for Vietnam's bivalve molluscs, accounting for 62% of Vietnam's total export value of this item to the Vietnamese market. As of November 15, 2021, Vietnam's bivalve mollusk exports to the EU reached US$73.7 million, up 38.5% over the same period last year. Italy, Spain and Portugal are the three single largest importers of Vietnamese bivalve mollusks in the EU.

Accordingly, exports to Italy (the largest single market in the bloc, accounting for 30% of Vietnam's total bivalve mollusk exports to the EU) reached over US$22 million, up 49%. Italy imports the most bivalve mollusks from Vietnam in the EU. The major bivalve mollusc products exported to Italy include frozen whole brown clams, frozen boiled brown clams, frozen boiled white clams, frozen steamed silk clams, and frozen processed clam meat. Followed by the Spanish market with an export value of US$21.3 million, up 42% and exports to Portugal reaching US$17.5 million, up 37% over the same period last year, the main products exported to these three markets are white clams and frozen steamed brown clams. The average export price to Italy ranges from US$2.35 to US$2.69/kg, while the average export price to Spain and Portugal ranges from US$1.7 to US$2/kg. France ranks 6th in Vietnam's bivalve mollusc exports in the EU, however, bivalve mollusc exports to France from Vietnam as of November 15, 2021 recorded the best growth rate of 191%.

Increased market demand and stable clam production are supportive factors for bivalve mollusk exports to the EU. A number of enterprises in the North and Central regions have maintained positive growth in the export of bivalve molluscs recently due to being less affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Tax incentives from the EVFTA also contribute to promoting the export of Vietnamese bivalve mollusk products to the EU.