CAN THO, VIETNAM — De Heus Vietnam this week held a grand opening of its new aquafeed mill in the Can Tho province of Vietnam.

The Can Tho Aquafeed Mill, which is dedicated to producing pangasius feed, has production capacity of 240,000 tonnes per year.

“We strongly believe white fish products are amongst the most healthy, delicious and sustainable animal protein products,” said Koen De Heus, chief executive officer of De Heus Animal Nutrition. “Therefore, as De Heus we actively keep 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.”

The company said the strategic location near the river port of the feed mill provides advantages for transporting raw materials to the plant and finished products to farmers. De Heus said it has developed an innovative bulk feed transportation system for pangasius feed. Based on this model, floating aquafeed 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.

“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,” said Johan van den Ban, CEO of De Heus Vietnam. “Besides, as De Heus Vietnam we try 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.”

During the grand opening ceremony, which was attended by political leaders, customers and business partners, De Heus officials noted that the mill was constructed with sustainability in mind.

De Heus entered a memorandum of understanding in March with partners to establish a partnership and cooperation to develop a rooftop solar power portfolio. With a total capacity of up to 20 MWp, this portfolio is Vietnam’s largest rooftop solar project in 2023. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2024. Specifically, the 458 kWp system at the Can Tho Aquafeed Mill is projected to prevent 470 tonnes of CO₂ each year. 

“These efforts aim at building an efficient and sustainable pangasius industry that can adapt to climate change and, primarily, protect the environment, while still fulfilling demands of international markets competitively,” De Heus said.