Inauguration of De Heus Can Tho aquatic feed factory mainly for pangasius feeds

On September 26, 2023, at the Tra Noc Industrial Park, the newest factory for De Heus,  Can Tho Aquatic Feed Factory was inaugurated. The ceremony was attended by Phung Duc Tien – Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD); Daniel Stork – Consul General of The Netherlands and Koen de Heus – CEO of De Heus Royal Group. with key leaders representing agencies under MARD; local leaders and more than 600 customers, partners, press agencies and representatives of De Heus Group were also present at the ceremony.

This grand opening ceremony of De Heus Can Tho Aqua Feed Mill is an important part of the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the Netherlands. According to Stork, the strong relationship between the two countries is based on long-term commitment and partnership in various fields, such as agriculture, sustainable development and water management. The opening of the De Heus Can Tho Aqua Feed Mill also contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, especially with regards to achieving food security, improving nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture.

De Heus Can Tho Aquatic Food Factory has a total design capacity of 240,000 tonnes/year, investment capital of VND500 billion (USD 20.6 million), specializing in supplying feeds for the pangasius fish. All products here are manufactured on the most modern technological lines from Europe and America. The entire production process, from input to output, is controlled by a fully automated system and strictly managed in accordance with ISO 22000, BAP and GLOBALG.A.P. standards.

Speaking at the ceremony, Koen De Heus said, “We strongly believe white fish products are amongst the most healthy, delicious and sustainable animal protein products. Therefore, as De Heus we actively keep investing in building our capabilities in this sector, especially in Asia and Africa. Vietnam is positioned well to become one of the world’s most important sources of aquatic proteins. We are committed to keep developing our strategic position in Vietnam together with our local and international partners.”

Johan van den Ban,  CEO of De Heus Vietnam – also shared: “Through our innovative nutritional solutions and thorough understanding of both local and international markets, we are constantly striving to help advance the Vietnamese fish farmers to develop successfully and sustainably. Besides, as De Heus Vietnam we try to play a coordinating role in the value chains in which we are active by supporting farmers to get access to top-quality genetics solutions, providing them with technical management solutions, access to finance and help connect them to the markets.”

Currently, according to Tien, the potential for aquatic food production is very large, but production output is still limited. The country currently has 119 mixed feed production facilities, with a total design capacity of 11.7 million tonnes. However, only about 5.4 – 5.6 million tonnes are produced annually, of which about 3.5 million tonnes are for domestic aquaculture.

Tien also expressed his belief that the factory coming into operation will contribute positively to the development of the aquaculture industry in the Mekong Delta in particular and the country in general.

The strategic location near the river port of the feed mill provides outstanding advantages for transporting raw materials to the plant and finished products to farmers. De Heus has developed an innovative bulk feed transportation system for pangasius feed. Based on this model, floating aqua feed products can be transported efficiently from feed mill to farms by river. This results in significant cost reductions, a much smaller greenhouse gas emissions footprint due to more efficient transportation, no use of plastic packaging materials and less transportation and production losses.

Known for their green ambitions and commitments towards sustainable agriculture, De Heus entered a Memorandum of Understanding in March 2023 with partners to establish a partnership and cooperation to develop a rooftop solar power portfolio. With a total capacity of up to 20 MWp, this portfolio is Vietnam’s largest rooftop solar project in 2023. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2024. Specifically, the 458 kWp system at the Can Tho Aqua Feed Mill is projected to prevent 470 tonnes of CO2 each year.

All in all, these efforts aim at building an efficient and sustainable pangasius industry that can adapt to climate change and, primarily, protect the environment, whilst still fulfilling demands of international markets competitively.