Hanoi (VNA) –Stronger investment into processing by-products of tra fish will be a way forVietnam to optimise their huge potential and values amid theexpanding tra fish sector, according to experts.

Statistics showed thateach year, aquaculture provides 4.5-5 million tonnes of materials for aquaticprocessing. In the tra fish sector, 60-70% of the materials for tra fish fillet processingbecome by-products.

Tran Dinh Luan, Directorof the Directorate of Fisheries, said by-products, including include head, bones, fin, skin and organs, are a source of materialsthat can promote the added value for the tra fish sector if they are optimised.

For example, raw tra fish skin is oftensold at 3,000 VND (0.13 USD) per kilo. However, the price of collagen and gelatinemade from it is 1,000 times higher, at about 3 million VND perkilo, said Doan Toi, General Director of Nam Viet Corporation (Navico).

Toi said that in early April, Navico andits partner from the Republic of Korea launched a 7-million-USD factory producingcollagen and gelatine from fish skin, with a capacity of processing 780 tonnesof materials per year. In the second and third phase, the factory’s capacity isscheduled to reach 1,200 and 2,400 tonnes per year, he said.

This is the first factory that can produce collagenpeptide in Vietnam. Navico expects 1.5 million USD of profit in the firstphase. By now, the factory has received orders from 15 customers.

Like Navico, Vinh Hoan Corporation in theMekong Delta province of Dong Thap has also engaged in collagen and gelatin production from fish skin, which has contributed 10% to the overall profit ofthe company.

Meanwhile, the Asia Fish Oil Corporation inDong Thap province has successfully produce fish oil from tra fish fats with acapacity of processing 400 tonnes of materials.

At the same time, the firm has also processedother by-products from tra fish into organic fertilisers and animal feed.

Directorate of Fisheries head Luan advised businesses to invest more in technology,enhancing the economic efficiency in processing products with high added values,while making full use of the Government’s policies to encourage the developmentof processing sector, heading to a circular economy in the fisheries sector.

Huynh Minh Tuan, ViceChairman of the People’s Committee of Dong Thap, said that the locality alwaysencourages local firms to renovate their tra fish processing towards higher addedvalue, aiming to make the most of the by-products and contributing to thegrowth of this billion-USD sector.

Data from the VietnamAssociation of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) showed that in the firsttwo months of this year, revenue from seafood export topped 1.1 billion USD,down 26% year on year, with tra fish exports dropping 38% to 240 million USD.

However, tra fishindustry will have to overcome difficulties and become profitable again inthe third quarter of this year as demand is likely to recover from the third quarter as festive events in year-end are coming and theChinese market is opening./.