The Asian country has over 400,000 hectares of land dedicated to freshwater aquaculture
Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP)
The Vietnamese fishing sector is making every effort to develop a modern, efficient, and sustainable tilapia industry, aiming to position this product as one of the country's top exports in the coming years.
For this reason, the 2025 Tilapia Production and Consumption Development Forum was held last October in Hai Phong City with the help of the Directorate of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Surveillance and the Hai Phong Department of Agriculture and Environment.
This initiative allowed representatives from management agencies, experts, scientists, and companies to come together and find solutions that boost production, increase value, and expand consumer markets for this product.
According to Mr. Nhu Van Can, Deputy Director of the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Surveillance Directorate, tilapia is highly adaptable, has reasonable farming costs, and offers high nutritional value.
According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), the country has over 400,000 hectares of land dedicated to freshwater aquaculture and more than 7,000 hydroelectric reservoirs and lakes.
Moreover, in the first eight months of 2025 alone, tilapia exports from Vietnam reached US$63.3 million, far exceeding the target of US$23 million for the entire year of 2024.
Furthermore, companies such as Nam Viet, Viet Nhat, Xuyen Viet, and De Heus are integrating production and processing chains in the country, which already boasts 300 fish farms, 80 feed mills, and 510 processing plants meeting export standards.
Given these factors, the government is confident that the "Vietnamese tilapia" national brand can be firmly established, with production rising to 400,000 tons and exports reaching US$100 million by 2030.
Despite all this, the Directorate of Fisheries considers it essential not only to increase production but also to establish a sustainable value chain that links producers, companies, and scientists.
The sector's main challenges include high production costs, small-scale operations, inconsistent stock quality, and weak linkages in the value chain. Efforts are also underway to accelerate digitalization in agricultural areas and assign traceability codes.
Consequently, the following is proposed: planning of intensive cultivation areas with synchronized infrastructure, the development of new generation breeds (G4), the application of Biofloc and RAS technologies, investment in deep processing, diversification of markets, and promotion of VietGAP and ASC certifications.
Finally, Van Can stated: "If we succeed in improving breeding, technology, production organization, and markets, Vietnam can absolutely transform tilapia into a new flagship product, positively contributing to sustainable fisheries development."