Pangasius has long been known as a “golden” billion-dollar fish of the Mekong Delta region. Vietnam earns some US$1.8 billion from pangasius export a year, mainly in the form of frozen fillet. However, some companies like Sao Mai Group have innovatively applied scientific and technological progress to upgrade deep processing techniques and diversify products to enhance their products' added value.
According to the Vietnam Pangasius Association, over 80 percent of pangasius export value comes from fillets, 10 percent from sliced pieces and less than 5 percent from value-added products like fish oil, fish meal and collagen. The Mekong Delta can harvest at least 140,000 tonnes of fish fat, mainly used to produce animal feed and biodiesel, and to export at very low prices.
Le Thanh Thuan, President and CEO of Sao Mai Group, said, “I travel a lot and I find that agricultural production in our country is somewhat wasteful. We grow rice mainly for food while we neglect the value of by-products like husk, bran and straw. Similarly, we take only 30 percent of pangasius to make fillets for export while the rest is used to make low value animal feed.”
After years of searching, he finally found research on pangasius fat benefits by the National Institute of Nutrition under the Ministry of Health. This research seemed to fuel his strength, will and determination to process pangasius fat into cooking oil, thus becoming the first in the world to do this.
In 2010, the International Development & Investment Joint Stock Company (IDI), affiliated to Sao Mai Group, commenced construction on a fish oil refining facility with a daily capacity of 200 tonnes in Vam Cong Industrial Park, Dong Thap province. The plant started its test run in mid-2013 and began official production in October 2014. Ranee-branded fish oil made its official debut on the market.
President Thuan said the facility is using modern automatic technology imported from Europe. Ranee fish oil contains valuable natural nutrients for human health like Omega 3, Omega 6, Omega 9 and vitamins. The quality of this oil is superior to sea fish. Besides, it is very easy to keep track of the origin of Ranee premium fish oil. Pangasius is cultured by Sao Mai Group with a very strict quality control process from baby fish to feed and ponds.
“The plant’s output is not enough to meet the market demand. Many domestic and foreign distributors have contacted us to gain the right to distribute these products. With these signals, we are confident that Ranee high-grade oil will be present in every kitchen soon,” he added.
To meet the high market demand for Ranee premium fish oil, Sao Mai Group decided to invest in a second production line with a similar output to the first one. After visiting the factory, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam praised Sao Mai Group’s daring steps. He has confidence that this group will be one of groups with huge contributions to raising the value of pangasius using its breakthrough approach that the entire agricultural sector needs to care about.
Nam Khanh
Vietnamese
