Shrimp by-products hold gold mine potential for Vietnamese processing

Shrimp by-products can be a good source for production of bioactive compounds. Experts gathered at a recent international conference in the southern city of Can Tho agreed that in-depth research is required in order to make good use of these materials.

Shrimp by-products can be used as raw materials to extract chitosan

At the conference to discuss ways to improve the value of shrimp by-products in Vietnam, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Tran Van Tung said the country’s shrimp by-products reached more than 320,000 tonnes in 2017 and are expected to increase by 60 percent in 2025. They can be used to produce high-added-value products like chitin and chitosan used in food production, biological materials, healthcare and agriculture.

Trang Si Trung, rector of Nha Trang University, said if shrimp by-products are thought of as raw materials, they can be used to create better products in multiple fields.

Nguyen Manh Dung, a former official at the Agro Processing and Market Development Authority of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said shrimp by-products are a problem in many processing facilities, being a source of pollution. But if used for further processing, they will become a valuable source of material supply and a “gold mine” for the processing industry.

With over 3,200km of coast and expanded shrimp farming areas in the Mekong Delta, the Vietnamese shrimp industry is expected to grow strongly, with a target of US$10 billion in exports by 2025. The expected attendant growth of shrimp by-products has great potential but a lack of high technology in processing shrimp by-products has resulted in the waste of this resource.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh said Vietnam’s agricultural sector plans to focus on high-value products and provincial specialties. Ministries, departments and localities need to pay attention to efficient investment in technology to turn shrimp by-products into high-value products, providing the country with major benefits. Tran Van Tung also said the Ministry of Science and Technology has focused on improving the policy framework in order to facilitate research and technology application, transfer and renewal.

Vietnam Food (VNF) has established a fund to support the development of shrimp by-products in Vietnam, aiming to help organizations and individuals utilize this abundant resource.