A VNF's chitosan product. Chitosan and its derivatives provide huge profits for the firm thanks to its strong bioactivity effects and diverse applications. (Photo vnfoods.vn) Vinh HoanCorporation extracts proteins from fish waste for use in cosmetics andpharmaceuticals.
"Ourcompany isolates collagen and gelatin from fish skin, two proteins that areused in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals", said Vinh Hoan's General DirectorNguyen Ngo Vi Tam.
About 19% ofits revenues come from aquacultural byproducts and 7% from the recovery ofcollagen/gelatin.
Tam said hercompany launched its first collagen/gelatin plant in 2015 with an annualcapacity of 2,000 tonnes. The plant was the first of its kind in Vietnam.
In 2021, VinhHoan's aquacultural byproducts and collagen/gelatin products raked in over 2.2trillion VND, of which the latter contributed 642 billion VND.
Nam Viet JSChas recently followed suit with a plant of 780 tonnes. As a result, insidersestimate that the market of collagen products will grow by 6% annually,reaching roughly 8 billion USD by 2027.
Vietnam FoodJSC (VNF) is profiting from the re-utilisation of shrimp waste.
Phan Thanh Loc,Vietnam Food CEO, revealed that the biopolymers derived from shrimp heads, suchas chitosan, are highly profitable as they are integral to anti-obesity andanti-fibrinolytic medications.
"Weprocess shrimp heads into various products, including chitosan and hydrolysedliquid. Our shrimp-derived hydrolysed liquid is unique", Loc said.
In hisestimation, shrimps' value would rise about five times should they be reclaimedinto animal feed, twenty times into functional foods and thirty times intopharmaceuticals.
Unfortunately,most shrimp producers opt for animal feed because of the costs of investing inhigh-tech equipment.
Sao MaiGroup JSC is another big name that has successfully turned pangasius fat intohigh-valued products, including cooking oil, shortening and margarine.
The processis lucrative as fish fat is sold at 16,000 VND per kilo, whereas cooking oilsells at 46,000 VND per litre and the two substances at 30,000 VND per kilo.
"We usethe proteins concentrated in hydrolysed liquid to make broth mix. We reclaimeverything", said Truong Vinh Thanh, Sao Mai's Deputy General Manager.
Expertsestimated annual aquaculture waste at approximately one million tonnes. Such anamount of waste, if left untapped, would cause severe damage to theenvironment.
"If wecan employ technology to turn 320,000 tonnes of annual shrimp waste, it wouldyield tens of billions of dollars", said Tran Van Tung, Deputy Minister ofScience and Technology.
However,there is still ample room for improvement. Reclaimed agricultural waste in Vietnamstood at just 275 million USD in 2020, far lower than the above figure.
Insidersunderscored the inaccessibility of bank loans as the main reason for the slowpace.
"Firmshave proclaimed for years that they do not need government financial support.Instead, they need readily-accessible bank loans and land slots", said BuiBa Bong, former Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Firms needbank loans to fund their research and development of new reclamation methodsand obtain high-tech equipment that can put the methods into use.Unfortunately, bank loans are generally difficult to obtain as most banks arecautious about financing such ventures.
Thesituation is no better for firms seeking government financial support, asaccess to the money involves a lengthy administrative process.
"It isnot easy to get hands-on financial support because of cumbersomeprocedures", said Vo Quan Huy, Director of Huy Long An Co. Ltd.
Le Hang,Communication Director of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters andProducers, estimated annual seafood output at 8 million tonnes, of whichaquaculture byproducts and waste account for nearly half.
She calledfor favourable policies to develop aquaculture byproducts and waste reclamationinto an independent industry to fully unlock their economic potential.
"Ministriesshould put aquaculture byproducts and waste high on its agenda and regard theirreclamation as an independent industry", she said.
She alsocalled for a mechanism to encourage firms to invest heavily in the industry forthe good of the environment.
According tothe Department of Science, Technology and Environment under the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development, up to 90% of aquaculture waste is reclaimedannually but predominantly into animal feed, a low-valued product.
Thedepartment believed that the waste would become a money-spinner for firmsshould they pour sufficient finance into high-tech equipment, which allows forthe manufacturing of higher-valued products./.
VNA
