As a major player in the Pangasius (Vietnamese catfish) feed industry, Proconco has enjoyed market leadership for over a decade. USSEC began working with Proconco in 2013, when the company began to look at moving into the marine fish market.
The company quickly realized that producing marine fish feed with high protein and fat content is not as simple as the relatively low protein and fat feeds used for Pangasius. Extruded marine pellet feeds needed a minimum starch level to float, which was now more difficult if protein and fat had to be increased as well. Furthermore, because the nutritional requirements for marine fish species are totally different from freshwater fish, a good experience with production and use of Pangasius feed didn’t necessarily mean success with marine fish feeds.
USSEC’s partnership with Proconco started with a feeding demonstration project using Asian sea bass. Through cooperation on this and the demonstrations that followed, USSEC was able to guide Proconco on the correct use of extrusion technology to produce marine fish floating feed with USSEC soy-optimized formulations. US Soy products such as soy protein concentrate, soybean meal, and in particular, soy lecithin, were applied to the diets. Proconco is also using the USSEC-led Asian Aquaculture Feed Formulation Database (AAFFD) to formulate feed for other marine fish species.
Following its experimental work, Proconco has just started to sell 10 metric tons (MT) of marine fish feed per month, in a first successful step into this new market.
A similar cooperation effort in Northern Vietnam between USSEC and Kinh Bac Feedmill, working with Asian sea bass demonstrations and marine soy-optimized feeds, has helped farmers in the Thai Binh province to switch from using so-called “trash fish” (ground-up bycatch) to formulated floating feed. Farmers learned that complete feed with US Soy products helps them to maintain pond water quality with low mortality and less labor required for feed management.
USSEC projects funded by US Soy growers have significantly promoted sustainable aquaculture in Vietnam. Fewer “trash fish” are being used and more US Soy products are being applied. Feedmills are now recognizing US Soy as a sustainable and responsible choice for feed applications.
