On August 22, 2019, Lenger Seafoods Vietnam Co., Ltd. cooperated with Nam Dinh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, ICAFIS and RECERD to organize the signing ceremony of Clam value chain according to ASC.

Potential for clam culture in Nam Dinh province

Nam Dinh province has 72 km of coastline, 3 large estuaries and a large intertidal area, the main substrate is muddy sand, high content of mineral salts, stable diurnal regime, time of drying from 5-8 hours per day is a favorable condition for the development of mollusc culture, especially the development of clam culture.

In recent years, the clam culture movement has been developed mainly in some coastal estuarine communes with a total area of clam culture in the province of nearly 2,000 hectares; In which, 1,500 ha in Giao Thuy district and 500 ha in Nghia Hung district. The annual production of clam is over 35,000 tons. Clam has been identified as one of the key farming objects of the Provincial Agriculture Restructuring Project in the direction of Enhancing value added and sustainable development. Currently, Nam Dinh clam is being consumed mainly in the domestic market, China and EU markets. Clam farming has created jobs, increased income and enriched many coastal people.

However, the current production and consumption of clam in Nam Dinh province still has some shortcomings such as aquaculture activities are affected by industrialization and climate change; environmental pollution and disease, resulting in low productivity; in processing, the problem of preserving products, technical technology and producing value-added products is still limited; the majority of clam culture households are still weak in market-oriented capacity, harvested clam products do not have a stable consumption market because they do not meet the increasingly stringent requirements of the market, there is no product brand associated with international standards such as Global GAP, ASC.

In the context of globalization and international economic integration deepening, the clam industry needs to diversify products, improve product value and brand; At the same time, reorganize production according to the value chain, aiming to obtain international certifications.

According to newly updated data, Vietnam currently has 112 farms/areas for raising pangasius, tilapia and shrimp that have attained ASC certification. For clam, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nam Dinh province cooperated with Lenger Seafoods Vietnam Co., Ltd. implemented the Clam value chain project according to ASC with a view to business with small scale producers, contributing to improving the value and brand for the clam industry in Nam Dinh province in particular and Vietnam clam in general.

Clam value chain according to ASC

Mollusc culture in Vietnam has changed positively from self-sufficiency and small-scale production to commodity production, focusing on export. As one of the four major aquaculture products of Vietnam, the clam industry has achieved many encouraging achievements in recent years. The objective of 2020 is to have a total area of clam farming reaching 48,370 ha; average yield of 8.27 tons/ha; export value reached about 150 million USD.

However, the clam industry has faced many difficulties and challenges recently; especially the technical barriers, quarantine issues, product traceability and the increasing demands of importing countries with dense certification systems. In the context of global integration, it is necessary for sustainable development, production towards achieving international certifications, diversifying products and promoting production programs and projects in value chain to enhance the value and brand for Vietnam clam industry.

Signing ceremony of clam value chain according to ASC of Nam Dinh province

The signing ceremony was held on August 22, 2019, acknowledging an important milestone in VIETNAMESE CLAM ADVANCING. At the ceremony, the stakeholders in the clam value chain in Nam Dinh province and the state management agency jointly signed the Agreement on cooperation in clam value chain construction in Nam Dinh province towards achieving ASC international certification.

At the ceremony, Lenger Seafoods Vietnam Co., Ltd. received useful sharing for the process of establishing and operating clam value chain in Nam Dinh. The ceremony has a particularly important meaning. It is a milestone for the next phase to implement the Clam value chain according to ASC as well as the first step for the link between clam farmers and processing enterprises, creating a chain of links from production, purchasing, processing, supply to consumption. This is also a commitment of stakeholders in cooperating and supporting clam farmers in the sustainable process of farming and consumption of clam products.  

The first unit in the world to apply ASC certification for clam

Lenger Seafoods Netherlands with experience of cultivating, catching and processing bivalve mollusk for over 90 years decided to invest in building a clam processing factory with modern processing technology lines in Nam Dinh province, aiming to form a new seafood industry - Cultivating, processing and trading of clam products.

The seafood processing factory of Lenger Seafoods Vietnam Co., Ltd in Nam Dinh has been equipped with many modern machines and equipment imported from Europe and has a team of skilled workers and management systems of food safety FSSC 22000, produces good quality products in accordance with international quality standards, so it quickly has a stable market share in the US and European markets. In the domestic market, the factory's clam products are offered for sale in almost all major supermarkets in Vietnam such as Vinmart, V+, Big C, Saigon Coopmart, Lotte and clean food stores in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Da Nang and many other provinces.

Lenger Vietnam officially became the first unit in the world to implement ASC certification for clam. The project "Clam value chain according to ASC in Nam Dinh province" began its implementation in August 2019 and is working hard to achieve ASC certification by 2020.

Ngọc Thúy – FICen