An MoU being signed in Tien Giang Province on January 8 for building sustainable clam supply chains to benefit farmers in the Mekong Delta. — VNS Photo Ngoc Diep

More than 20,000 clam farmers in Ben Tre, Tien Giang and Tra Vinh are expected to benefit from a memorandum of understanding the three provinces signed with Lenger Seafoods Vietnam on Jan 8 to supply clams to the processor.

The MoU was signed with the Dutch company by the provinces' Fisheries Sub-departments, the International Collaborating Centre for Aquaculture and Fisheries Sustainability (ICAFIS), and representatives of clam farmers and co-operatives.

It was signed under the EU-funded “Inclusive and sustainable clam and bamboo value chains development in Viet Nam” project carried out by Oxfam, ICAFIS and the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2018-22.

All of them will work to establish closed clam supply chains encompassing all stages from breeding and harvesting to transporting and processing.

It could hold the key to sustainable clam production in the country and help prevent overexploitation.

Le Thanh Luu, director of ICAFIS, said clam farming has been developing in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta region for many years, mostly in Ben Tre, Tien Giang and Tra Vinh provinces.

In 2009, Ben Tre Province’s small-scale community-based clam fisheries met Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standards.

Tien Giang this year and Tra Vinh in 2021 are also expected to achieve MSC certification.

Nguyen Ho Nguyen, general director of Lenger, said his company mostly exports clam products to the US, Japan and the EU, and 80 per cent of all customers there demand MSC certification.

“Local clam breeders are able to reach consumers world-wide thanks to MSC certification.”

The company has developed a distribution channel comprising supermarkets and restaurants across the country. — VNS