One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Vietnamese Fish! Day 5 (5/24)

"I'm on a boat!"

Many people dream about going on a cruise, and we were fortunate enough to begin our second day in Vietnam just that way.  South of Ho Chi Minh was the Tien Giang Province where we took a river cruise on the Mekong River to visit an aquaculture farm.  After seeing life along the river, we arrived at the farm where the farmer had waited until we arrived to feed the fish.  It was quite a sight to see the swarm of fish scaling the top of the water for food.  Not exactly a homogeneous mixture of fish, which we expected for a typical aquaculture facility.  This was because of the flow of the river would sometimes carry in river fish and the nets would not always block them out.

Feeding Time!

Lunchtime for the fish ended, but we soon began our meeting with the farmer about the operation over refreshing coconut juice, straight from the coconut.  The farmer had previously worked in a different industry, but chose to study aquaculture at a university and began his operation.  His son is currently pursuing secondary education in aquaculture as well.  

He explained that because his farm was located in fresh, flowing water, he can have a higher concentration of fish, therefore a higher yield.  Because of this, river aquaculture is more profitable than pond farming. As we saw at feeding time, tilapia is what he most commonly raises.  Like any other farming operation he buys feed for the fish, which can include ingredients such as rice meal, DDGS, and vitamins.  Once again, we are seeing U.S. commodities in international operations.  For this particular farmer, his rations come from a feed mill across the river.  Twice a year he harvests the fish for a total of 100-160 metric tons.

As we huddled under the roof of the porch as a quick rainstorm pelted down, the farmer also described the obstacles he faces.  Because he is located on a river with traffic and other operations, there is problems with pollution.  Even if pollution floats downstream from other sources to his farm, the farmer could be forced to close his operation.  The government is aware of this problem and uses extension agents to regulate the water and disease outbreaks.  Like any farmer, this producer has to struggle with weather, diseases, and regulations while trying to produce for their industry.  

Following our visit with the aquaculture farmer, we boated down river to another small island for lunch.  This was a more traditional meal where we stepped out of our comfort zones.

Fresh fish for lunch!

Once our feet were back on dry land, we headed back to Ho Chi Minh City for a meeting with Vina Commodities.  The feed trading company has been fortunate enough to become a successful business by taking opportunities from the U.S. Grains Council.  Chien, one of our guides and U.S. Grains Council Consultant for Vietnam, introduced the director of the company to a program that guarantees lower interest rates comparable to ones in the U.S. (3-5%) instead of common rates in Vietnam (16%).  This also helps to continue imports of U.S. commodities.  The company also owns three crushing plants for soybeans and has its own port.  Although the company already has 15 locations, they hope to expand to have more facilities, focus on infrastructure, and become even more globalized.

Margery gets a music lesson

We wrapped up the evening by visiting a night market and a dinner cruise on the Mekong River, within Ho Chi Minh City limits.  Although I have "haggled" in markets in China, I still struggled and tagged along with Bethany M. and Chein in order to get the best deal.  Mathias and Daniel proved to be top-notch hagglers, but one little girl refused to back down on her prices.  The dinner cruise was a nice way to relax after dodging many motorbikes to get to the river.  Several from our group were suckered into playing with the band.

Our day on the river helped us to better understand a small farmer's perspective in Vietnam.  Like in the U.S. farmers in Vietnam struggle with pollution from outside sources and interest rates.  We were able to see how the U.S. Grains Council has made available in Vietnam that also benefits U.S. agriculture.  Also Vina Commodities was another example of the young population in Vietnam.  The director began the company only ten years ago, and probably was not much older than thirty.

With only one more day left in Vietnam, be sure to follow up for more posts!