Vietnamese fisheries sector to improve competitiveness through traceability system
-   +   A-   A+     07/10/2010
On September 8th, in Can Tho, the Technology Application and Development Department (Ministry of Science and Technology) in collaboration with IBM Vietnam held a seminar with a theme of "Applications of Information Technology (IT) to improve competitiveness for aquatic products processing enterprises in Vietnam". The workshop aims at supporting  seafood businesses seeking intelligent information technology solutions for application in product quality management from farming, processing to the transportation and distribution stages.

On September 8th, in Can Tho, the Technology Application and Development Department (Ministry of Science and Technology) in collaboration with IBM Vietnam held a seminar with a theme of "Applications of Information Technology (IT) to improve competitiveness for aquatic products processing enterprises in Vietnam". The workshop aims at supporting  seafood businesses seeking intelligent information technology solutions for application in product quality management from farming, processing to the transportation and distribution stages.

At the seminar, the fishery enterprises were introduced the framework of food traceability solutions by applying IT in creating supply chain of safe seafood. This solution aims at supporting businesses to reach the overall food supply chains based on digital technology, on the basis that each element of the supply chain will be fitted with a tracking device only. This may be an identification card with radio frequency attached to a fish, a bar code assigned for a product packaging or a specific number set for a shrimp pond.
Fishery products can then be put into a scanner and the data is transferred to distributors, importers and consumers. Thanks to that, seafood exports from Vietnam have reached high quality standards for freshness, thus creating a safer food supply chain for consumers worldwide. Besides, the seafood enterprises have access the latest IT advances, including traceability software for helping them to capture important information about seafood products such as origin, date of capture, transport temperature.
Mr. Ta Viet Dung, Deputy Head of the Technology Application and Development Department (Ministry of Science and Technology) said that given the technical hurdles requiring import goods to meet requirements of quality, origin, the application of IT in tracing seafood origin is an effective solution to help seafood processing enterprises enhance competitiveness, expand markets, especially satisfy consumers’ strict demands for product origin and quality. Mr. Dung affirmed that food traceability solutions not only help seafood businesses comply with the strict regulations of the management bodies and the importing countries but also help enterprises actively monitor product quality, easily  detect and handle incidents during seafood processing for recalling products quickly.
In the Mekong Delta region currently the two businesses very successful in IT applications in tracing seafood origin are Binh An Seafood Processing Joint Stock Company (Can Tho) and Ca Mau seafood processing Joint Stock Company. Only one year after application of IT in tracing seafood origin, the seafood exports of the two companies increased from 10% to 15% compared with the use of traditional methods.

By CIS


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