The story of the early days of bringing sturgeon and salmon to Vietnam is closely linked to the journey back to his homeland of Mr. Nguyen Trong Cu, Director of Viet Duc Trading and Investment Company Limited.
Every time they visit Sa Pa, in addition to relaxing, exploring nature, and experiencing the cultural identity of ethnic minorities, every tourist surely wants to enjoy the local specialties of salmon and sturgeon, which have been famous for over 10 years.
Vietnam has successfully bred these two cold-water fish species for a long time, but few know that the pioneer in bringing these rare exotic fish species to Vietnam for farming was a Vietnamese expatriate who had lived and worked in Germany for 35 years.
Return
I happened to meet Mr. Nguyen Trong Cu at a seminar on private enterprises. Judging solely by his appearance, it would be hard to believe that he owns a chain of seven sturgeon and salmon farms across the country, supplying all the fry and feed to over 200 households raising these fish in Sapa. Even less would anyone guess that he is a Vietnamese expatriate, a lawyer who has lived and worked in the Federal Republic of Germany for over 35 years.
After many years of returning to Vietnam to start a business, as he himself calls himself, a “genuine farmer,” he has left behind all the glitz and glamour of a Vietnamese expatriate from Germany, leaving behind only a simple man with sun-tanned skin and an unmistakable Ha Tinh accent.
His decision to return to Vietnam with his family in the early 2000s, while enjoying a comfortable life in Germany at the time, surprised many. Even more surprising was his choice to invest in high-tech agriculture, specifically in aquaculture, a field that was still very new and had never existed in Vietnam before.
Mr. Cử confided that his deep longing for his homeland was the driving force behind his return to Vietnam. Sharing about his connection with sturgeon and salmon, he said that salmon is one of the top 10 most beloved foods in the world, while sturgeon and sturgeon roe need no introduction; everyone knows they are known as “black gold on the dinner table,” a name that even famous billionaires admire.
These two types of fish are of very high economic value to farmers and businesses, yet they are only known in temperate countries.
Initially, he had no intention of starting a business with these two types of fish. However, upon returning to Vietnam and researching in several localities, he inadvertently learned that although Vietnam is a tropical country, some mountainous areas have a temperate climate, which is very suitable for developing cold-water fish species.
“Besides that, the fact that Vietnam didn’t have the technology to farm sturgeon and salmon domestically at that time made me determined to do something new instead of investing in other traditional fields,” Mr. Cu shared.
Working alongside him at that time were many experts at the Coldwater Fisheries Research Center, and especially Udo Grob, his long-time German friend and leading expert on coldwater fish.
Despite investing systematically and professionally from the very beginning at the first facility in Sapa, the challenges of venturing into a new field were immense. Mr. Cu explained that salmon and sturgeon, originating from cold climates, are not easy to raise successfully in a tropical country like Vietnam, if not extremely difficult. In particular, hatching sturgeon eggs under the local climate conditions is a monumental feat.
When choosing Sapa as the location for sturgeon breeding, the water there is very cold, around 13-14 degrees Celsius. He had to invest in a heating system to incubate the sturgeon at 18 degrees Celsius. Then, he had the fertilized sturgeon eggs imported from abroad, quickly picked up at the airport, and transported to Sapa for incubation into fry.
Despite all the hard work, the risk of failure can arise at any time. Just a small mistake in technique, transportation, or unforeseen circumstances like a power outage… an entire catch of fish worth billions of dong could vanish into thin air in an instant.
Mr. Cu shared that he experienced many failures when he first started, including periods of consecutive failures. However, it was precisely because of these setbacks that, after many unsuccessful attempts, he found a way to successfully hatch eggs and raise sturgeon in Vietnam.
To date, his company, Viet Duc Trading and Investment Co., Ltd., has seven sturgeon and salmon farms across the country. These include three farms in Sapa, one in Hoa Binh, and several in Da Lat.
In addition, he is expanding his business into supplying fish fry and feed, and transferring technology for raising sturgeon and salmon using clean farming models to local people. In Sapa, his company currently supplies fry and feed to more than 200 households raising sturgeon and salmon in the area.
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The aspiration to bring Vietnamese-branded sturgeon and salmon to the world.
Mr. Cử recounted that during his time in Germany, when he intended to return to Vietnam to start a business, he heard from Vietnamese businesspeople who had left Vietnam to do business abroad that, “If we can’t even do business in our own country, how can you, coming back from abroad, possibly succeed?” At that time, he was very concerned.
“Abroad, I’ve come to understand that only the development of private ownership can lead to national development. Meanwhile, the private sector is the soul of private ownership. The more a country develops its private economy, the wealthier and stronger it becomes.”
The government needs to implement policies that further encourage and facilitate the development of private enterprises. Only then can we unite, transform, and develop the nation’s internal strength.
Recently, the government has implemented many policies to support private enterprises, such as reducing unnecessary permits, streamlining investment procedures, and providing capital support. However, the actual implementation has not been truly effective. His own company has also faced many difficulties in accessing land and capital from the state, especially when investing in large-scale farms.
Speaking about the development of Vietnam’s agricultural sector, this leader stated that the potential is enormous. Vietnam is a country with 4,000 years of history, originating from agriculture. Agriculture must be the pillar for developing a sustainable economy, followed by industry.
However, according to Mr. Cu, the biggest problem facing Vietnamese agriculture is the influx of smuggled products from China, which poses significant challenges to domestic production.
The strengths of Vietnam’s sturgeon farming industry, thanks to his and his company’s hard work, have been increasingly affirmed. However, recently he has been very worried as Vietnamese sturgeon are struggling in their own market due to low-quality, illegally imported sturgeon from China disguised as Vietnamese products.
“Many times when I went to Lao Cai, looking across the border with China, from the border gate, I saw convoys of trucks carrying agricultural products returning from the other side. Among them were sturgeon and salmon products that they claimed were from Vietnam.”
“After a long time involved in agriculture, I’ve come to the conclusion that if Vietnam wants to develop its agriculture, we need to manage and control our borders. Otherwise, Vietnamese consumers will continue to consume contaminated food and smuggled goods,” Mr. Cu emphasized.
His aspiration is for people to have access to clean, high-quality products from “farm to table.” Through this, he aims to promote, introduce, and celebrate Vietnamese sturgeon, gradually changing consumer awareness. His Thac Bac – Sa Pa restaurant chain in Sapa and Hanoi is a testament to this dedication.
However, this overseas Vietnamese’s ambition doesn’t stop there. Mr. Cu said that currently, Vietnam’s sturgeon and salmon stocks are insufficient to meet domestic market demand. In the future, he will work with Vietnamese farmers to further develop this aquaculture industry, aiming for a future where Vietnamese sturgeon and salmon are recognized on the world map and establish their brand in the international market.
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