Vietnamese businesses export insects to the European market

Globally, the size of the insect food market is estimated at $3.8 billion and could triple in the next five years.

The insect farming industry for human consumption is growing in Europe. Insects contain high levels of omega-3, vitamin B and important minerals, and the farming process has a minimal impact on the environment. Globally, the size of the insect food market is estimated at $3.8 billion and could triple in the next five years.

At present, there is only one company in the world qualified to export insects to the European common market, which is a Vietnamese enterprise.

The World newspaper published in France has an article about a business in Binh Phuoc province, "raising crickets, processing them into powder, and exporting them to Europe and the US". A French reporter visited the factory and saw "a production line, processing 150 tons of crickets into 30 tons of protein-rich powder each month", "packed in 5 or 20 kg bags, with a selling price of 16 to 24 Euros/kg". The factory owner said, "the crickets' feed is crushed soybeans and corn, 2 kg of feed produces 1 kg of crickets". This business also hires neighboring households to raise crickets. The article quoted Mrs. Pham Thi Hoa, and her husband, both in their 60s, as saying that "raising crickets at home is cleaner and more profitable than raising chickens", "the couple earns an additional 700 Euros each month", nearly 20 million VND thanks to raising crickets for the business.

Two kilograms of feed yield one kilogram of animal protein, only insects can provide such efficiency. The British newspaper Money Week, in the article "Why insects are on the menu", wrote that "producing one kilogram of insect protein only requires about 1/10 of the feed, water and land compared to one kilogram of beef, and the process of raising insects only emits very few greenhouse gases". More and more Europeans and Americans are willing to add insects to their diet, of course in powder form, not whole worms and crickets stuffed into bread... The article said: "Demand for insect protein is growing, with total global production set to increase 50 times the level of 2021, reaching half a million tons by the end of this decade".

The European Union only allowed the use of insects as food for humans in 2018, and has only approved four types of insects, "beetle larvae, grasshoppers, mealworms and crickets". The Austrian newspaper Salzburger Nachrichten wrote about a new product: a protein bar for athletes, "12% of which is dried and crushed beetle larvae". In Europe, "insect powder has appeared in chocolate, honey, flour, pasta, protein bars, bread, biscuits, breakfast cereals, pizza, sauces, soups, snacks and peanut butter". The Austrian newspaper introduced a new concept, "Entovegan, a vegan diet in which all ingredients are plants and insects".

According to VTV

Source: https://doanhnghiepvn.vn/doanh-nhan/doanh-nghiep-viet-xuat-khau-con-trung-vao-thi-truong-chau-au/20240701083956681