Status, supply chain, challenges, and opportunities to advance oyster aquaculture in northern Vietnam

Oyster aquaculture in northern Vietnam is a new and growing industry that brings benefits to coastal communities. By understanding the oyster supply chain, the potential value can be fully explored, and socio-economic and environmental gains targeted. This study surveyed industry representatives – from farm to plate – to examine the industry status, distribution network, challenges, and opportunities. Four broad distribution network models were identified: direct-to-sale, wholesaler, cooperative/processor, and retailer. These models are quite different and comparing them is complex. A reduction in the marketing margin in any supply chain is likely to result in shared economic and/or welfare gains for pre-harvest elements, elements in the value chain, and consumers. Similarly, lower farm production and hatchery costs and increased consumer demand would result in welfare gains shared along the supply chain, although these do not necessarily translate to changes in the marketing margin. Key challenges were associated with spatial and marine development planning, lack of monitoring, collaboration/coordination along the supply chain, market price variation and consumers. Challenges were further explored in the categories of collaboration/coordination, regulation, and export. Opportunities exist to better understand how oyster shell might be used as a by-product such as a livestock mineral supplement, in soil acidity management, and in crop and vegetable growth. Almost half of the survey respondents have oyster shell as a by-product, suggesting the potential for carbon offset schemes could also be explored, at least to the extent to which they ameliorate the carbon footprint of the industry. These opportunities could advance and value-add to oyster aquaculture in northern Vietnam.