Proactively source goods to serve the Tet market

Lunar New Year is the time when the consumption of goods increases. Currently, seafood purchasing and processing facilities in Thai Thuy district are actively producing to meet market demand.

Seafood processing facilities in Thai Thuy district proactively source goods to serve Tet.

In the drizzling rain on a morning at the end of the year of the Dragon, we visited the fish sauce processing facility of Mr. Hoang Ngoc Khang's family, group 9, Diem Dien town, just as he was busy bottling more than 100 liters of fish sauce for customers in the province.

Mr. Khang confided: My family is in the traditional fish sauce production business. To have enough fish sauce to serve consumers during the Lunar New Year, I had to prepare a few months in advance. These days, I have focused all the family's workforce and hired 2 seasonal workers to decant fish sauce from tanks, bottle, label, and pack the product for export to traders. On average, each year, the facility produces and supplies more than 10,000 liters of various types of fish sauce to the market; during the Lunar New Year alone, about 2,000 liters are sold. Traditional fish sauce producers like us do not have many advantages like industrial fish sauce producers in terms of capital, product promotion, etc., but we are very confident in the quality of our products. Therefore, my "Khang Chang fish sauce" brand has always stood firm in the market. To create prestige with customers, I pay special attention to ensuring food hygiene and safety and improving product quality. To make delicious fish sauce, the ingredients must be carefully selected from the freshest mackerel, anchovy, sardines, and squid. After the fish is mixed with salt, it is put into tanks to ferment for at least 12 months before being filtered into fish sauce for sale on the market. Normally, fish sauce costs 30,000 - 200,000 VND/liter; at the end of this year, I still keep the price the same to serve customers. Currently, I also produce many other types such as shrimp paste, squid paste, and pre-process shrimp, squid, and fresh fish to serve the diverse culinary needs of diners everywhere.

Mr. Pham Ngoc Thu, Vu Thu town said: My hometown is Diem Dien town, born and raised in the coastal area, so I am only used to using traditional fish sauce. I find Khang Chang fish sauce has a dark brown color, a light aroma, a salty taste without bitterness, and a sweet taste... I find it delicious and tasty. Every year, near Tet, I come here to buy some to use and give to relatives.

Seafood processing facilities in Thai Thuy district proactively source goods to serve Tet.

According to statistics, Diem Dien town has more than 45 seafood purchasing and processing establishments. Tet is the "busiest" time of the year, so most seafood processing establishments are ready to serve the Lunar New Year. Understanding the demand as well as the price of seafood during Tet will increase, many production establishments such as Huong Mung traditional fish sauce processing establishment, An Binh seafood processing establishment, The Long seafood processing establishment... are also preparing goods to serve the end of the year.

Currently, in Thai Thuy district, there are more than 90 seafood processing establishments in the communes of Thuy Hai, Thuy Xuan, Thuy Truong... Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan, owner of Thien Lan seafood purchasing and processing establishment in Thai Thuong commune, said: In a year of business, I look forward to Tet the most. On average, I purchase and sell more than 500 kg of various types of seafood every day, and during Tet alone, the demand increases 2-3 times. Therefore, to ensure the quality of fresh seafood, I am taking advantage of pre-ordering with local ship owners to have the best quality seafood batches; investing in 2 cold storages to preserve more than 60 tons of seafood. Purchasing seafood early helps me have enough supply for the Tet market, avoiding out-of-stock situations. This year, I have received orders for more than 4 tons of squid rolls and shrimp buds for agents... Orders are expected to continue to increase in the following days.

According to some traders, the current prices of seafood products are 20 - 30% higher than previous years, specifically: farmed whiteleg shrimp 320,000 VND/kg (1kg contains about 30 shrimp); yellow shrimp 135,000 VND/kg; shrimp 180,000 VND/kg... The exploitation situation at the end of the year encountered many difficulties due to unfavorable weather, low output, but in return, seafood prices are good, so fishermen are very excited. For a long time, processed seafood products of fishermen in Thai Thuy district in particular and Thai Binh province in general have been assessed as having delicious quality and consumed in all provinces across the country. However, to increase the value of seafood, seafood purchasing and processing facilities need to focus on investing in infrastructure and processing technology to ensure technical standards. During the process of purchasing and processing seafood, establishments must strictly comply with food hygiene and safety procedures and technical standards to achieve OCOP standards. In particular, to “score points” with consumers, establishments must increase product promotion on digital platforms.