Improving seafood freshness at the port markets of Phu Quoc, Vietnam with Japanese seafood technology pilot

For three weeks in July and August, Meros senior analyst Hiroki Seki dove into the Vietnamese seafood industry, moving from Phu Quoc Island, the largest island in Vietnam and a part of Kien Giang province, to Rach Gia, the capital city of Kien Giang province, to Ho Chi Minh City, interviewing seafood experts, visiting fish markets and discussing the growing market for premium fresh fish. This research is all part of an on-going pilot project funded by JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) to increase the incomes of fishermen and reduce food-loss by improving the freshness of the fish sold in Phu Quoc. The project is led by three fishery companies from Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture, the westernmost tip of Japan’s main island. The three companies, Yutaka, Fujimitsu and Nishi-F, aim to introduce Japanese technologies for maintaining fresh fish quality into Phu Quoc’s main seafood market, and Meros is supporting by investigating the regional market demand for fresh seafood among seafood end users in Phu Quoc, Rach Gia and Ho Chi Minh.

Seafood today is mostly sold at markets on the streets in Phu Quoc and is rarely sold at supermarkets. Seafood is sold by fishmongers who sell many kinds of locally sourced seafood such as horse mackerel, squid and octopus. These markets are visited by not only by general consumers but also buyers from the local restaurants. Therefore, the markets can get extremely crowded during busy times of day.

Fishmongers selling fish on the streets of Phu Quoc.

Two challenges dominated the struggle to maintain seafood freshness along the supply chain in Phu Quoc

1. After the seafood is caught, proper refrigeration measures are not taken on the boat, causing an immediate decrease in quality

2. After seafood is landed, the freshness deteriorates during the distribution process before reaching the end-users due to inadequate refrigeration.

As a result of these cold chain weaknesses, much of the seafood arriving at the Phu Quoc market does not end up sold for human consumption, but instead ends up as feed for farmed fish or discarded. To address these challenge, we are conducting a pilot project between January 2022 to August 2024 to introduce several Japanese technologies that may be able to increase incomes of the fishermen as well as decrease food-loss and maintain good prices for high quality fresh seafood.

Specifically, we are:

1. Manufacturing and installing a machine to produce slurry ice at the port in Phu Quoc

Slurry ice is a sherbet-like ice that can penetrate the fish, cooling its body temperature quickly. The machine was designed by Japanese companies Remice and Yutaka and manufactured in Japan. It will soon be shipped and installed at Phu Quoc port.

2. Converting existing ships’ wooden tanks to FRP fish tanks

FRP (fiber-reinforced plastic) fish tanks have a higher tolerance to heat than wooden fish tanks.

3. Bringing cold storage boxes from Japan

These boxes are made of styrofoam with a special coating and have enhanced heat-resistance. By putting the rem ice inside these boxes, fish can be transported from the harbor to end-users without a decrease in freshness.

Here is an example of bonito kept fresh using slurry ice in Amami Oshima, an island in Japan.

Over the next months, our partners will monitor the boats, like those pictures below, which installed FRP fish tanks filled with slurry ice to see whether this has improved the freshness of fish compared with fish caught by conventional methods. We also use the cold storage boxes to see whether the fish can maintain freshness all the way to the end users, such as restaurants and supermarkets.

But to make these cold chain investments sustainable long-term, it is critical to know- is there really demand from Vietnamese end users for fresher fish?

This was Meros mission. We investigated the interest in fresh fish among Vietnamese end users through interviews and visits with over 30 restaurants, hotels, and fish processing companies in Phu Quoc, Rach Gia, and Ho Chi Minh City.

And indeed, we found out that there’s very high demand for fresher fish, driven both by the growing hotel and restaurant industry, as well as the fish processing industry.

Development on Phu Quoc island is advancing rapidly, with many luxury hotels and an increasing number of tourists coming to enjoy its beaches and seafood delicacies. Hotels and restaurants are seeking fresher fish to meet the demand of tourists who are willing and interested in paying for premium seafood.

In Rach Gia, there are many fish processing companies and they too are looking for fresher fish. In particular they process squid in a large volumes into ready-to-eat forms, mainly for export. They are looking for fresher squid in order to produce higher quality products that they can sell at higher prices.

In Ho Chi Minh City, with rising incomes and a boom in Japanese cuisine, the demand for raw fish dishes like sashimi and sushi continues to grow. While Vietnamese consumers can already eat raw fish dishes at many restaurants in Ho Chih Minh City, this fish is often imported from overseas, such as salmon from Norway.

We visited a Japanese restaurant in Rach Gia that serves a variety of sushi and sashimi, mostly sourced from overseas. Japanese cuisine such as sashimi and sushi is increasingly popular in Vietnam, and demand for raw seafood ingredients sourced from Vietnam is growing

The pilot fishing expeditions in Phu Quoc using the new technologies are expected to be completed by the end of this year. If we can demonstrate capacity to maintain greater freshness in domestically caught seafood compared to conventionally caught seafood, along with strong market demand for fresh seafood at restaurants, hotels and processors, similar initiatives may begin in other regions of Vietnam. If all goes well, in the near future, it might be possible to enjoy delicious sashimi and sushi from domestic Vietnamese fish in many restaurants and hotels across the country.

We were so appreciative to the dozens of Vietnamese seafood end-users who shared their views and experience, including a fish freezer manufacturer in Ho Chi Minh City (left) and the chef of a Japanese restaurant in Phu Quoc (right).

If you are interested in learning more out this project or Meros’ wide range of other experience in Vietnam and in global seafood and fisheries, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

Meros welcomes Daijiro Hata as our newest full-time research analyst!

Meros has a new team member! Welcome, Daijiro Hata! Daijiro joined us this summer and is already jumping into projects, visiting expos and attending farms demos in his home prefecture of Shiga.

Daijiro has a degree in Natural Sciences from Kyoto University and spent an additional year at the University of Guadalajara, Mexico studying agriculture.

His career has spanned diverse roles, allowing him to gain deep experience in both corporate and international development work. Before Meros he worked for development consulting company Padeco on international development projects, particularly in the Philippines. Previously in his career, he had been involved in global business development for agricultural non-woven fabric, including on-site demos to explore market entry potential in Indonesia, market research in Spain and was responsible for trade and export management with European customers, including optimizing route and vessel plans.

The common theme has always been international business development, trade and new markets and Meros was a chance for him to return to his core passion – food and agriculture.

“I have had a deep interest in food and agriculture since childhood. Even in elementary school, I loved growing vegetables like cucumbers and tomatoes in our garden during summer vacation. I think this deeply inspired me and I studied biology and agriculture in university. I have been developing my career in business development both in Japan and overseas, but my core interest has always been in food and agriculture.

“Meros is the ideal environment for me to develop deeper expertise in food and agriculture and put my experiences in new business development, trade and market research to use on a variety of exciting topics.”

“I was really excited to see that Meros’ work covers the entire agriculture supply chain in a international context, and I felt I could both pursue my passion in agriculture and also contribute the perspectives I have gained through my previous career experiences.”

Since joining Meros, Daijiro has already been putting his experience to use by becoming involved in our work in Colombia on rice industry development policy and investigating opportunities for new business and agri-tech start-up collaboration in key global agriculture sectors.

“I have experience working on JICA projects and I know I can contribute to Meros’ work with JICA and with other international agencies on international agricultural development challenges. In addition I hope I will be able to use my Spanish language skills in projects in Latin America where I can dig into local documents and interview local experts. Through Meros’ training program and support from my Team Meros colleagues, I am quickly learning new systematic research and analytical skills, and I plan to apply these skills to solving our clients’ challenges.”

Daijiro is extremely curious about new foods and cuisine and is always eager to try new restaurants with the team – something that is a challenge only when he is preparing for high-level competitions in weight training and body building – an inspiration to our team!

He is fluent in Japanese, English and Spanish.

Our summer research assistant has arrived – welcome Kana Ueno!

Our newest summer assistant has arrived and is already hard at work. Welcome, Kana Ueno!

Kana is an undergraduate student at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland where she is majoring in Sustainable Development Studies. While she grew up in Tokyo, she has an adventurous spirit that led her to choose to study in Switzerland for high school before moving to Scotland to continue her exploration of the world.

She is a full-time summer intern with us in Tokyo this summer and is already deep into research on aquaponics and its global players, supporting field interviews on Thai edible insect products sold in Japan and beginning research into her own independent project on sustainable palm oil.

Kana explained her motivations for wanting to join us this summer. “I wanted to be a summer assistant at Meros because I liked that Meros specializes in food and agribusiness consulting. Since I have been interested in the topic of sustainability and as it is what I major in at university, I was looking for work experience where I can learn how sustainability comes up “in the real world”. After reading the description of what Meros does and how Meros navigates decision-making along the value chain in the food industry, I instantly knew I can learn something new in this environment. I am still considering several possible career paths and I really wanted to know what consulting firms do and how they approach their work.”

This summer Kana will be diving into the complex issue of sustainable palm oil and the incentives and certifications that can encourage sustainable practices in palm oil supply. She expects to conduct interviews with palm oil sourcing experts in the EU and Japan to identify some best practices and leading players in sustainable palm oil.

“Although I am just starting to dig into the topic, I am aiming to find out how sustainable palm oil is procured by companies in Japan, with specific focus on the RSPO certification system and the guidelines/policies Japanese companies have proposed in terms of palm oil procurement. I had learned in my university studies about how palm oil plantations can have a destructive impact on the environment, and I became very curious about how this issue is perceived and being approached in the Japanese food industry. I am excited to dig deeper into this topic and find out the dilemmas companies are facing in sourcing sustainable palm oil, as well as what “sustainable” palm oil really means.”

Of course, as a Team Meros member, Kana works hard, but also plays hard. “I am looking forward to meeting up with my friends to explore izakaya Japanese pubs, especially in some of our favorite Tokyo areas such as Sangenjaya and Gakugei-daigaku. Though I am not a big fan of the humid and burning hot summer in Tokyo with its annoying mosquitoes, I am excited for the summer working at Meros and spending some good quality time with my friends and family. I definitely want to go for a drive whenever possible – I don’t have that many chances to drive in Scotland and I need to keep up my driving skills!  I am also planning to improve my golf game and travel with my family.”

“When I am in Scotland, out of all kinds of Japanese food, what I miss the most is definitely my mum’s homemade dishes like cabbage rolls and hijiki seaweed. I love any kind of cuisine and am always keen to try new foods, but when I am back in Tokyo nothing beats good sashimi and my izakaya favorites like dashimaki tamago, – rolled omelettes made of eggs and dashi. Yum!”