Bringing Vinh Binh dried shrimp far and wide

The product "Thanh Thanh dried shrimp" participates in the tourism and culinary festival combined with the OCOP product trade promotion fair - Rach Gia 2025. Photo: PHAM HIEU

The difficult path of starting a business

According to Mr. Pham Van Nho - Director of Thanh Thanh Agricultural Service Cooperative, Vinh Binh Commune, before establishing the cooperative, his family traded small dried goods at the market. In 2021, during a trip to Kien Luong, he saw that people were making a lot of dried shrimp at attractive prices; meanwhile, in his locality, the source of shrimp raw materials was quite abundant, so he had the intention of following suit. He started to learn from experience in Ca Mau, old Bac Lieu . However, due to lack of experience, the first batches of dried shrimp he made did not meet the expected quality...

“After only 2 months of starting my business, I lost nearly 90 million VND. I was determined not to give up, so I continued to research and learn in many ways and finally succeeded. I offered my products at Rach Gia Trade Center, and the traders accepted my offer at a fairly high price, so I was very happy. But not long after that, the price of dried shrimp was forced down, so I had to leave this market,” said Mr. Nho.

With no main market left, Mr. Nho continued to offer his products in the provinces and cities of the Mekong Delta, even to Binh Duong (old), Tay Ninh... but it was not very promising. Then he went to Binh Dien wholesale market (Ho Chi Minh City) to seek luck and successfully cooperated with businesses there. At this time, the amount of dried shrimp exported to Binh Dien gradually reached the tons.

To meet the supply, at the end of 2021, Mr. Nho and 8 other households established Thanh Thanh Agricultural Service Cooperative. However, after a period of business, he realized that although the cooperative's dried shrimp products were of good quality, brand recognition in the market was almost zero.

This leads to low value of dried shrimp and the risk that the cooperative will "die" if the output is interrupted again. Therefore, the cooperative started to register the brand, participate in the OCOP Program... Fortunately, by 2023, the dried shrimp product will meet the provincial 3-star OCOP standard, creating the premise for the cooperative to participate in many promotion programs in many markets. Thanks to that, Vinh Binh dried shrimp products are gradually becoming more widely known. Contracts are also increasing, especially in the Northern market.

“Now the cooperative is no longer worried about output but about not having enough shrimp raw materials to pay for orders for customers. Like the last time, I participated in promotion in Thailand, foreign partners ordered 5-7 tons of dried shrimp each month but the cooperative's capacity was not enough so it had to accept processing for import-export units. If the scale was enough, Vinh Binh dried shrimp would not only stop at the domestic market,” Mr. Nho said regretfully.

Conquer the market with reputation

According to Thanh Thanh Cooperative, since the beginning of 2025, the unit has supplied the Northern market with more than 7 tons of dried shrimp, with prices ranging from 550,000 - 900,000 VND/kg. To achieve the above results, in addition to quality products, the cooperative has conquered the market with its reputation.

Mr. Nho affirmed that, with Thanh Thanh Agricultural Service Cooperative, the business motto is prestige, dedication and responsibility are put first. That is shown first through the information printed on the packaging accurately from raw materials, ingredients, production time, expiry date...

The product "Thanh Thanh Dried Shrimp" is currently announced to contain 96% shrimp, 4% salt, no colorants, chemicals, clean shrimp ingredients provided from the local organic shrimp - rice model... And with other products that are also transparent, the products of Thanh Thanh Agricultural Service Cooperative always receive the trust of customers and partners", Mr. Nho informed.

In addition to dried shrimp, Thanh Thanh Agricultural Service Cooperative also has dried snakehead fish, butterfly fish and dried bananas which are also products meeting 3-star OCOP standards and many other quality dried products, following the footsteps of dried shrimp to be present in many key markets. With current activities, the cooperative is providing regular jobs for about 30 local workers.

In addition, the unit is negotiating with a number of companies that purchase woven products to create more jobs and increase income for people... The cooperative also maintains activities to support difficult circumstances in the area, helping them overcome obstacles in life.

“In the near future, the cooperative will focus on human resources, investing in machinery and equipment, expanding the market… In addition, research will be done to make more clean rice products from organic rice of the shrimp-rice model; make products from Vinh Binh giant freshwater prawn… However, we are arranging and prioritizing work structures appropriately because the financial resources of the cooperative are not large enough. The cooperative also hopes to access support policies from the State, especially capital support so that the cooperative can operate more sustainably,” Mr. Nho shared.

According to the leaders of Vinh Binh commune, the products of Thanh Thanh Agricultural Service Cooperative not only promote the brand of Vinh Binh countryside but also contribute significantly to the consumption of raw materials for farmers; at the same time, create jobs for local workers.

“The commune encourages and creates favorable conditions for the development of cooperative models, cooperative groups and the development of quality and reputable OCOP products, thereby increasing product value and contributing to promoting local economic development…”, said Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Vinh Binh commune, Nguyen Thanh Khoa.

PHAM HIEU

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/dua-tom-kho-vinh-binh-vuon-xa-a463015.html