Sustainable development of seafood processing industry

(Baothanhhoa.vn) - Thanh Hoa has many potentials and outstanding advantages to develop the marine economy with a 102km long coastline and a sea area of ​​17,000km2, creating a rich fishing ground with a diverse ecosystem. Therefore, along with focusing on exploiting the strengths of the marine economy, coastal localities of the province have also promoted the development of seafood exploitation and processing industries. Thereby, contributing to promoting the sustainable development of the fisheries economy, creating a solid foundation for fishermen to stick to the sea and go offshore. At the same time, building brands, enhancing product value and creating jobs, bringing stable income to thousands of workers in coastal localities.

Producing fish cakes for export at FXPT Seafood Import-Export Company Limited, in Quang Tien ward (Sam Son city).

The traditional fish sauce making profession in many localities in Nghi Son town has been formed for hundreds of years, and is still preserved and developed by the people today. To make delicious traditional fish sauce, fish sauce makers must follow many stages, requiring meticulousness and diligence. The main ingredients for making traditional fish sauce are fish, shrimp and salt. From selecting salt, buying fish, shrimp to fermenting and filtering fish sauce, every process is carried out carefully and meticulously, ensuring food hygiene and safety. Currently, Nghi Son town has more than 200 establishments and hundreds of households producing and processing fish sauce. Of which, there is 1 fish sauce production village Do Xuyen - Ba Lang which has been recognized and developed a collective brand; 11 fish sauce, shrimp paste and shrimp paste products have achieved OCOP 3 to 4 stars. Fish sauce production at facilities still maintains traditional methods, but to improve productivity, efficiency as well as modernize the profession, many businesses and facilities have invested in machinery, applied modern technology and techniques in appropriate stages. Typically, Tinh Gia Fish Sauce Joint Stock Company, Ninh Hai Ward, has applied multi-enzyme microbial technology combined with temperature, shortening the process of hydrolyzing fish protein. The company has invested in a water filtration system using reverse osmosis technology to filter even tiny fish meat, residue and bacteria to produce high-quality fish sauce products, ensuring food hygiene and safety, meeting market demand, contributing to protecting the health of consumers.

FXPT Seafood Import-Export Company Limited, located in Quang Tien Ward (Sam Son City), has a seafood processing capacity of about 700 tons/year, creating regular jobs for about 150 workers. The main product is surimi squid, exported to the Japanese market. In 2025, seafood export activities have shown signs of improvement, the company has promoted many solutions to improve production efficiency and seek new orders. In the first 6 months of 2025, the company's seafood export activities reached more than 200 tons of finished products, with an export value of nearly 3 million USD, an increase of about 20% compared to 2024.

In recent years, the seafood processing sector in Thanh Hoa has seen a rapid increase in the number of enterprises as well as a variety of products. Among them, there are many deep-processed seafood products of high quality, meeting the strict requirements of major markets such as the EU, Japan, Korea, etc. Accordingly, the whole province currently has about 80 seafood processing enterprises, of which 6 enterprises participate in official seafood exports. The main products include: surimi fish cakes, frozen clams, dried clams, frozen seafood, fish meal, fish sauce, shrimp paste, shrimp paste, etc. and are exported to markets such as China, Korea, Japan, Thailand, the EU and the US markets, etc. In addition, coastal localities also have more than 1,000 small and retail establishments participating in the preliminary processing and processing of seafood products. Through enterprises and processing establishments, Thanh Hoa annually supplies the market with over 13 million liters of fish sauce; more than 22,000 tons of fish meal; 2,500 tons of surimi fish cakes; 10,500 tons of steamed clams, frozen clams; 22,440 tons of other frozen seafood...

Although there have been many positive changes in the development of aquatic and seafood processing, in general, most production facilities are still small-scale and fragmented; processed products are monotonous; many chains have not been built from production, processing to product consumption; production technology is outdated, so they mainly perform preliminary processing, freezing, and raw material processing, and product value is not high. In order for aquatic and seafood processing to develop sustainably and commensurate with its potential, functional sectors and localities need to continue to actively support enterprises and seafood processing facilities in forecasting the market, regularly providing information on consumer tastes and quality requirements; at the same time, organizing many trade promotion activities for aquatic and seafood products of craft villages to reach large markets. Focus on strengthening the management of product quality, registering food hygiene and safety standards, registering trademarks; improving designs and packaging to expand the market. At the same time, deep processing enterprises need to apply processing procedures according to international standards, such as: hazard analysis and critical control point HACCP, GMP to ensure processed products meet export standards...

Article and photos: Luong Khanh

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/phat-trien-ben-vung-nghe-nbsp-che-bien-thuy-hai-san-253559.htm