Technical assistance and training has been provided by Danida funded Fisheries Sector Programme Support (FSSPII) to develop brand-names and improve marketing for small-scale traditional fish-sauce producers in Quang Ninh and Nghe An provinces, according to the Embassy of Denmark in Hanoi.
Large earthenware jars in which the fermentation process takes place. Cai Rong Fish Sauce Company, Quang Ninh Province.
Coastal northern provinces of Vietnam, such as Quang Ninh and Nghe An, are traditionally important centres for the production of fish-sauce. Unlike big companies using highly industrialised techniques, traditional fish-sauce producing enterprises in these provinces have remained mostly small-scale. They are family-run micro and medium-size enterprises, and create livelihoods for many thousands of rural families.
Support for post-harvest activities under DANIDA’s Fisheries Sector Programme Support (FSPSII) includes technical assistance and training regarding branding and certification. This will protect or strengthen the market position of small-scale producers such as traditional fish-sauce enterprises.
Cai Rong Fish-Sauce Company in Quang Ninh Province and Van Phan Seafood JS Company in Nghe An Province, have both benefited from such support. Brand name support of a somewhat different kind has also been provided to two traditional fish sauce producing villages, Phu Loi I and Phu Loi II, in Quynh Di Commune, Nghe An Province.
The technical assistance and training provided by national specialist consultants, with FSPS financial support, has already had a significant impact on the income earning potential of these.
FSPS will continue to provide such support, given current government policy to improve the brand image of Vietnamese fisheries products and to support livelihood creation and business opportunities for rural communities.
Future activities will continue to build the reputation and market visibility of nuoc mam ‘fish source’ that is produced in the time-honoured, traditional way.
