Fish sauce is a staple found on tables up and down VIetnam – in fact, the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported last year that the average person consumed 3.9 litres of fish sauce annually.
However, the industry is at risk of over-exploitation as producers attempt to keep up with demand.
The issue was addressed during a workshop held by the Việt Nam Fish Sauce Association, Vietnam Fisheries Society and the Research Institute for Marine Fishery, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) recently.
Speaking at the workshop, MARD Deputy Minister Phùng Đức Tiến said that by 2030, fishing output may reduce to 2.8 million tonnes while aquaculture production would reach seven million tonnes because the current fishing intensity was too great.
The GSO reports that Vietnamese fish sauce productivity last year reached nearly 380 million litres.
The fish sauce processing industry has generated jobs for 10,000 people and millions of fishermen, traders and salt makers.
The processing industry shows great potential, however, its export turnover left behind the production capacity by 12.6 per cent compared to total production output.
Vietnam’s export of fish sauce to Asian countries accounted for 54 per cent, Australia with 18 per cent, the European countries with 13 per cent and the US with 13 per cent.
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https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2021/12/23/protecting-raw-resources-vital-to-the-future-of-vietnam-fish-sauce