According to S&P Global, Cargill is working closely with its employees to manage a transition following the decision to shut down its aquafeed operations in Vietnam. The company is closing two aquafeed plants located in Đồng Tháp and Long An provinces, as well as its aquaculture technology application center in Tiền Giang.
This strategic exit comes despite a prior investment of USD 160 million in Vietnam, where Cargill built 12 feed mills for aquaculture and livestock with a combined annual capacity of 1.6 million metric tons.
In an interview with the Vietnam Livestock Journal, Maxime Hilbert, acting managing director of Cargill’s Aquaculture Nutrition Division in Thailand and Vietnam, explained that the move reflects the company’s focus on long-term priorities in selected markets and livestock segments.
Cargill’s withdrawal from Vietnam’s aquafeed sector follows its global restructuring announcement decision in December 2024, which included a 5% reduction in its global workforce. The company cited strategic realignment as the reason behind the layoffs. Despite rapid growth in Vietnam’s aquafeed industry, Cargill’s operations there have underperformed over the past two years. The move follows the recent announcement of IFB Agro to acquire Cargill's shrimp and freshwater feed business in India.
Data from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam shows that aquafeed output in the first five months of 2025 rose 7.8% year-over-year, reaching 3.64 million metric tons. Aquaculture now accounts for 60% of the country’s total seafood production, up from 53.6% in 2018.
Vietnam’s aquafeed sector is fiercely competitive, with major players including C.P. (Thailand), Grobest (Taiwan), Japfa (Indonesia), BioMar (Vietnam-Australia), Sunjin and CJ (South Korea), Uni-President (Taiwan), YueHai (China), and local-foreign joint ventures such as Thăng Long Group (Vietnam-China). Domestic companies like Sao Mai Group (HoSE: ASM), Mavin, and Greenfeed are also active in the market.
Recent investments underscore the sector’s dynamism. In May 2024, Thăng Long Group inaugurated a new facility in Hải Dương, increasing its annual capacity to 700,000 metric tons. YueHai also began construction on a plant in Vĩnh Long in April 2024, expected to produce 200,000 metric tons annually.
Before Cargill’s exit, Chinese aquafeed producer Tong Wei had already scaled back its Vietnam operations, reducing its Tiền Giang plant’s capacity from 300,000 to 220,000 metric tons in 2015.
Cargill has been active in Vietnam since February 1995 and currently employs more than 1,500 people across its business segments, including animal nutrition and health, food and beverage ingredients, agricultural supply chains, and specialized feed ingredients.
