Vietnamplus

Between May and August, fishermen in Phu Yen province rush to prepare their gear for offshore trips to catch anchovy fish, commonly used to make dried food and traditional fish sauce.

The Vietnam Association of Fish Sauce, established on October 27, will label products that meet certain standards with its own logo, to help consumers recognise traditional local fish sauce and provide access to safe and high-quality fish sauce.

As traditional Vietnamese fish sauce is being sold in more and more countries around the world, businesses need to pay attention to their packaging and help consumers differentiate between traditional and industrial varieties, experts have said.

The southern province of Kien Giang aims to welcome 8.3 visitors and earn 6.84 trillion VND (294.7 million USD) from tourism in 2019, up 7.6 percent and 7.3 percent, respectively, from the previous year, according to the province’s Department of Tourism.

For Tran Ngoc Dung, the traditional fish sauce of Vietnam has not received the respect it deserves.

Farmers in Sam Son city, the north-central province of Thanh Hoa, have become rich by developing traditional fish sauce production and business.

Vietnamese traditional fish sauce makers need to step up marketing to promote their products both at home and abroad, experts said.

To develop the market for traditional fish sauce, besides producers, consumers also play a crucial role in evaluating the quality of traditional fish sauce and industrial fish sauce products.

On a recent sunny day, Phan Thi Kim Ngan, 53, wore an old palm-leaf conical hat, as she removed the cover of a barrel containing traditional fish sauce in her garden in Con Son commune in Can Tho City.