Việt Nam, Japan boost cooperation in oyster production chains

Việt Nam has great potential and advantages to develop oyster production chains.

Việt Nam has great potential and advantages to develop oyster production chains, experts said at a conference on aquaculture technology organised in HCM City on Tuesday by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Speaking at the conference, Đinh Xuân Lập, an expert from International Centre for Aquaculture & Fisheries Sustainability (ICAFIS), said that Việt Nam's aquaculture in general and mollusk farming, in particular, has changed positively from self-sufficiency, small-scale production to export-oriented commercial production.

Việt Nam's mollusk products are exported to 50 markets around the world including the EU, the US, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico and Australia.

With more than 3,260km of coastline and many areas that are favourable habitats for bivalve mollusks, Việt Nam has advantages in raising oysters.

Currently, the country has about 3,200ha of oyster farms across 24 coastal provinces and cities, but it is a very modest figure compared to its potential, Lập said.

Increasing demand for oysters in both Việt Nam and other countries creates motivation for oyster farmers to invest in their farming, Lập said, adding that however, Vietnamese oyster farmers face limitations relating to farming technology, breeding source, and water management for oyster farming.

Ihara Hidenori, deputy chief representative of the JICA Office in Việt Nam, said that from June 2022, JICA and Yamanaka Inc (Japan) have surveyed the feasibility of applying farming technology in raising oysters for raw eating and sanitary management technology to promote oyster farming in Việt Nam’s south central Khánh Hòa Province.

Through the project, Japan wants to spread the technology of oyster farming with added value and high productivity, helping to increase income for aquaculture farmers in Việt Nam in the future, he said.

Takada Shinji, director-general of Yamanaka Company, said that Japan has the experience and high-quality oyster farming techniques, and can support Việt Nam to develop oyster production chains in the future.