According to Deputy Secretary General of the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) Tran Thuy Que Phuong, Vietnamese seafood exporters previously competed mainly on price and production capacity.
Importers are increasingly prioritizing on-time delivery, temperature control throughout the cold chain, traceability, data transparency and carbon-emission reduction standards.
These requirements have turned logistics into a competitive advantage rather than merely a transportation cost.
However, businesses continue to face challenges, including high transportation costs, inadequate transport infrastructure in the Mekong Delta and the concentration of goods at several major ports.
On international markets, fluctuations in shipping rates, shortages of empty refrigerated containers, changes in shipping schedules and geopolitical developments continue to drive up logistics costs. In addition, data connectivity among farming areas, processing plants, cold storage facilities, transport companies and seaports remains limited.
Vietnam currently has more than 600 seafood processing plants and facilities that meet export requirements.
The Mekong Delta remains the country’s key seafood production and processing hub, accounting for about 80 percent of exported shrimp, 95-98 percent of exported pangasius and 50-60 percent of seafood processing plants serving export markets.
