• The species is emerging as a commodity with great potential
• In 2024, exports reached over USD 41 million and are expected to increase to USD 83 million in 2025
A few days ago, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) organized at Ho Chi Minh City a conference for its tilapia producers and exporters members. At the conference, VASEP, together with businesses operating in the tilapia sector, agreed to establish the Council of VASEP Tilapia Producers and Exporters, abbreviated as VASEP Tilapia Council.
The companies expressed strong consensus and officially approved the establishment of VASEP Tilapia Producers and Exporters Council, including the Council’s Operational Regulations, creating a foundation for the business community to coordinate closely, share information, and promote the sustainable development of the tilapia sector in the coming time.
The Council, reported VASEP, is established to enhance the linkage among tilapia production, processing, and export enterprises; support each other in raising product value and quality; improve production and export efficiency; and cooperate in addressing issues related to raw materials, quality, environment, market barriers, and policies. The Council also aims to build a sustainable cooperation network among businesses in the industry.
The members of the Council are companies affiliated with VASEP that are engaged in the production, processing, marketing, or export of tilapia. However, other companies involved in the tilapia production and export chain (without being members of VASEP) may also register to join the Council for a period of one year, according to reports.
How It Will Operate?
The Council will operate through sharing sectoral information, coordinating to resolve market barriers, participating in policy consultations, organizing quarterly periodic meetings, workshops, surveys, trade fairs, and specialized events. Activities will be carried out transparently, democratically, and managed by a Secretariat supported by the VASEP Office.
The Council ‘s Steering Board comprises two or three members, including one Chairman who is a representative of the VASEP leadership, and one – two Vice Chairmen elected based on democratic and transparent principles. The Council ‘s Steering Board represents the Council in organizing and deploying activities, connecting with domestic and international agencies, and ensuring the Council’s development orientation.
Stable, Quality, and Highly Competitive Export Supply Chain
Against the backdrop of Vietnam’s seafood industry intensifying its strategy to diversify farmed species and export commodities, tilapia is emerging as a commodity with great potential, aligning with international consumer trends and domestic production conditions. In 2024, tilapia exports reached over USD 41 million and are expected to increase to USD 83 million in 2025, more than doubling.
Many companies’ members of VASEP have invested in farming areas, applied deep-processing technology, developed value-added products, and are gradually forming a stable, quality, and highly competitive tilapia export supply chain.
80% of Total Seafood Exports
The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers is a non-governmental organization, based on the principles of voluntary, autonomy and equality. Its members are leading Vietnamese seafood producers and exporters with companies providing services in seafood sector. Based on mutual supports, the association was established on 1998 to coordinate and link enterprises operations, to improve value, quality and competitive capacity of Vietnamese seafood, to enhance source of raw material for seafood export, to represent and to protect legal interests of members.
Between its members are companies of all economic forms, administrative agencies and authorities in seafood exporting and processing sectors of Vietnam, accepting VASEP rules and charter, voluntarily joining the association and approved by executive committee. Most of VASEP members are prestige seafood producers and exporters, representing 80% of the total seafood exports of Vietnam; the other are service companies.
