De Heus opens $20 million aqua feed mill in Can Tho

The De Heus Can Tho Aqua Feed Mill is designed with a total capacity of 240,000 tonnes annually and is dedicated to producing basa fish feed.

All products are manufactured using state-of-the-art European and United States production technology. The entire production process, from input to output, is controlled by a fully automated system and strictly managed in accordance with ISO 22000, BAP and GLOBAL G.A.P. standards.

Speaking at the ceremony, Koen De Heus, CEO of De Heus Animal Nutrition said, "We strongly believe white fish products are among the most healthy, delicious and sustainable animal protein products. Therefore, De Heus is actively investing in building our capabilities in this sector, especially in Asia and Africa. Vietnam is positioned well to become one of the world’s most important sources of aquatic proteins. We are committed to keep developing our strategic position in Vietnam together with our local and international partners.”

Johan van den Ban, CEO of De Heus Vietnam said “Through our innovative nutritional solutions and thorough understanding of both local and international markets, we are constantly striving to help advance the Vietnamese fish farmers to develop successfully and sustainably. Besides this, De Heus Vietnam tries to play a coordinating role in the value chains in which we are active by supporting farmers to get access to top-quality genetics solutions, providing them with technical management solutions, access to finance and help connect them to the markets.”

The grand opening of De Heus Can Tho Aqua Feed Mill is an important part of the celebrations of the 50^th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the Netherlands.

According to Daniel Stork, consul general of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ho Chi Minh City, the strong relationship between the two countries is based on long-term commitment and partnership in various fields, such as agriculture, sustainable development and water management.

The opening of the De Heus Can Tho Aqua Feed Mill also contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, especially regarding achieving food security, improving nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture.

The strategic location near the river port of the feed mill provides outstanding advantages for transporting raw materials to the plant and finished products to farmers.

De Heus has developed an innovative bulk feed transportation system for basa fish feed. Based on this model, floating aqua feed products can be transported efficiently from feed mill to farms by river. This results in significant cost reductions, a much smaller greenhouse gas emissions footprint due to more efficient transportation, no use of plastic packaging materials and less transportation and production losses.

Known for their green ambitions and commitments towards sustainable agriculture, De Heus entered an MoU in March 2023 with partners to establish a partnership and cooperation to develop a rooftop solar power portfolio.

With a total capacity of up to 20MWp, this portfolio is Vietnam's largest rooftop solar project in 2023. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2024. Specifically, the 458kWp system at the Can Tho Aqua Feed Mill is projected to reduce 470 tonnes of CO2 each year.

All in all, these efforts aim at building an efficient and sustainable basa fish industry that can adapt to climate change and, primarily, protect the environment, whilst still fulfilling the demands of international markets.

Journey of thriving sustainability by De Heus and Hung Nhon On May 14, the DHN Agriculture High-Tech Complex in Gia Lai was started by De Heus Vietnam and Hung Nhon Group, marking the fourth such site in the country. On the occasion, Johan van den Ban, CEO of De Heus Vietnam, spoke with VIR's Oanh Nguyen about the project and its mission to modernise Vietnam’s agriculture.

Positive goals set by livestock groups Many large-scale livestock companies plan to implement significant projects in 2023, a year in which the sector is widely tipped to recover.

De Heus and Bel Ga fulfill commitments to sustainability with solar rooftop portfolio De Heus, Bel Ga and Green Roof have formed a partnership with a view to deliver a positive impact on Vietnam’s sustainability progress. Johan van den Ban, CEO of De Heus Vietnam, discussed with VIR’s Thanh Van the importance of the latest tie-up between the three companies.