Founded in 2001, after nearly 20 years of construction and development, Viet Uc Corporation has always taken the lead in applying scientific and technological advances, especially high-tech production, to ensure a stable supply of high-quality baby prawn for culturing and processing purposes to build brands and uplift the brand of Vietnamese prawn.
Stable supply of high-quality prawn breeds
Binh Dinh is among the best-quality prawn producers in Vietnam. The annual production output of brackish water shrimp is about 7,100 tons, of which white-leg shrimp output accounts for 94% and giant tiger prawn is only 6%. The province currently has a shrimp farming area of 1,833 ha, which is to be expanded to 1,923 ha in 2020. Given natural advantages and government support, Viet Uc Seafood Corporation picked Binh Dinh as a hatchery of shrimps for the central region where Viet - Uc Binh Dinh high-quality broodstock production area and Viet - Uc Phu My high-tech shrimp breeding area play an important role.
If we look at the whole shrimp production chain from broodstock, fry, feed, commercial farming, and processing. Wherein, broodstock investment is the top technology tier in the industry. For white-leg shrimp, we previously relied completely on foreign imports, causing a number of disadvantages: (1) limited supply that failed to meet orders at peak and even risked the whole industry if no input source was available; (2) high price; and (3) poor quality that affects fry growth. Thus, excessive dependence on foreign shrimp broodstock and failure to control the supply source caused shrimp farmers in Vietnam to pay very high prices but expose themselves to potential risks.
Under the strategic cooperation with the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), since 2010, Viet - Uc Corporation is the only company to bravely invest in broodstock. After many years of genetic research and breeding selection under the strict supervision from reputable State agencies and CSIRO, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development officially allowed Viet - Uc Corporation to commercialize white-leg shrimp broodstock, marking a new breakthrough for the Vietnamese shrimp industry. The active broodstock source helps produce breeding sources with an outstanding survival rate, high resistance and good adaptation to local soil conditions. For many years, Viet - Uc shrimp seedlings have been highly appreciated by shrimp farmers for their good adaptability, rapid and analogous growth in size of breeders, thus helping improve productivity and profitability for farmers.
Currently, Viet - Uc Corporation is running nine broodstock areas across the country. The Binh Dinh province-based facility, covering 8 ha, is capable of producing 5 billion baby shrimps a year. This is a major supplier of quality shrimps for farmers in the province and surrounding areas.
Increasing value and sustainable development
In addition to creating quality breeds, Viet - Uc Corporation always strives to seek solutions to increase added value and help the entire industry develop sustainably. One solution that the group adopts is to establish a hi-tech agricultural zone. In Binh Dinh province, Viet - Uc Phu My High-tech Agriculture Park started construction in 2017 on an area of 300 ha and is expected to expand up to 406 hectares to produce 30,000 tons a year by 2025.
More specifically, to sustainably develop the local shrimp industry, beside hatchery and commercial farming area, Viet - Uc Corporation will close the value chain with a 20-ha export processing factory built next to it. The processor will automate over 70% of production lines and apply cutting-edge technologies from leading countries such as the United States, Europe and Japan to meet international standards such as HACCP and BRC.
In this area, the corporation is currently applying high-tech shrimp farming models, typically the STC shrimp farming model in membrane houses. Each membrane house is built on 1 ha, costing VND8-9 billion for construction. The house has 14 500-square meter ponds, surrounded by many supporting facilities like settling ponds, waste ponds, gas treatment plants, electric generators, water treatment ponds and internal roads.
In early 2018, Viet - Uc Binh Dinh raised commercial shrimps in six ponds. Each square meter is stocked with 300 - 500 fries. The company harvested four ponds, with two tons of shrimp each or 40 tons per hectare, 5-7 times higher than normal shrimp productivity. Furthermore, the firm also boldly invested in automatic shrimp feeding equipment whose sensors are placed in the ponds to know when the shrimps want to eat to feed them. As a result, shrimp feed is conserved and does not pollute the water. Then, up 14 items had to reach VND6 billion each and the quality of cultured shrimps had to meet at least VietGAP or higher criteria.
Mr. Luong Thanh Van, Chairman and General Director of Viet Uc Corporation, said that the construction of high-tech applied agriculture zone in a greenhouse in Binh Dinh demonstrates the group’s resolve to realize its aspirations of “raising the level of Vietnamese shrimps.” Modern technological processes such as greenhouse farming models allow best meeting highest requirements for “greenhouse microclimate”, “greenhouse biology” and “greenhouse pests”, adapting to current and future climate change, ensuring safe, disease-free and best-grown shrimp farming. As a result, shrimp growth is fast, free of pathogenic bacteria and free of chemical residues and antibiotics. The company’s products are bought at high prices and appreciated by domestic and international shrimp processors.
Super-intensive shrimp farming models have helped provide stable shrimp production. The shrimp value is raised by traceability processes and environmental protection requirements.
To date, Viet Uc Corporation has made great strides in shrimp farming and sided with Binh Dinh province to become the national center of the shrimp industry and gradually improve the value and quality of the shrimp industry in the export shrimp value chain of Vietnam. Last but not least, the company has integrated shrimp farming models with tourism development by opening demonstration areas, sightseeing high-tech farming processes and providing organic culinary sources.
Source: Vietnam Business Forum
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