Dac Loc Seafood: A pearl of Phu Yen

Despite its modest size, Dac Loc Seafood Company is an organisation making big waves

Each year, Dac Loc produces and sells to the market around 2.5 billion high-quality, disease-free white leg baby shrimps, as well as over eight million Asian sea bass and other fish breeds. The company also provides an annual output of 3,000 tonnes of food, minerals, microorganisms, and veterinary drugs for aquaculture farming.

The company not only supplies farmers, but also buys their produce. Dac Loc has collected and supplied more than 10,000 tonnes of shrimps per year to seafood processing factories both inside and outside the province.

Dac Loc has contributed VND3 billion ($132,000) per year to the local budget, as well as providing employment for 650 local people.

Le Huu Tinh, the company’s deputy general director told VIR, “Since our first days of operations, we have come up with a mix of short-term and long-term strategies in line with the growth of the aquaculture sector in the province.”

Dac Loc has invested in modern equipment and set up partnerships with major corporations in Vietnam. The company also teamed up with domestic and foreign institutions to choose suitable breeds for farming in Phu Yen.

“Dac Loc has received support in the form of techniques, equipment, and technology from the Research Institute for Aquaculture No. 3 and CP Vietnam Corporation. The company also sells and exchanges aquaculture products with its partners across the nation in Danang, Khanh Hoa, Dong Nai, Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho, and Ca Mau,” Tinh added.

Dac Loc has upgraded its technology to produce GlobalGap certified products. The company imported the best shrimp species from Thailand and other nations to breed its shrimp stock.

Dac Loc is also branching out into tuna and other kinds of seafood. The move is expected to help the company minimise the risks involved in aquaculture farming.

Another project Dac Loc is involved with is a seafood trading centre in Song Cau town. Dac Loc invested VND10 billion ($440,000) in the project to construct a centre that will also provide a platform for networking and exchanging information between Phu Yen and other provinces.

The firm is also ramping up investment in a seafood processing factory so as to raise its competitiveness in local and overseas markets.

Strong commitment to constant improvement

Although Dac Loc has remained small, the firm is committed to contributing to communities by implementing a wide range of corporate social responsibility activities. Over the past few years, Dac Loc has actively participated in charity, social, and educational programmes to support disadvantaged people in need.

The company is on track with a steady customer base and nationwide distribution network from the southern provinces of Ca Mau, and Kien Giang to the northern city of Haiphong, and Nam Dinh and Nghe An provinces.

Dac Loc is one of the first shrimp producers in Vietnam granted the GlobalGAP certificate. The company’s product qualify for export to major markets around the world.

After seven years, Dac Loc has raised its total assets from VND20 billion ($880,000) to VND200 billion ($8.8 million). The company has not grown into a primary supplier of white leg shrimps like CP Vietnam and Uni-President. However, Dac Loc is ranked as the fifth-largest supplier in the market despite its small size. This is great achievement for the company itself and the business community in Phu Yen as a whole.

Dac Loc made a significant investment in the 30-hectare production facility in Song Cau town. The plant is well organised with three farming areas for private brood stock and commercial shrimp breeds. Every day, the facility hums to the beat of cycling transport vehicles moving goods to and from the facility, and the over 150 employees working at full capacity to ensure smooth production.

Tinh highlighted that the company continues its efforts to maintain market share and upgrade to the most advanced technology. Dac Loc has plans to build a new seafood processing factory for export. A group of Japanese investors has expressed their interest in teaming up with Dac Loc to complete the project so products can be exported to Japan in the near future.

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