The feed maker BioMar announced on July 22, 2026, that its joint venture BioMar Viet-Uc, operating in Vinh Long province (formerly Ben Tre province), Vietnam, has obtained the ASC (Aquaculture Stewardship Council) feed certification (ASC Feed). It is the first time BioMar has obtained this certification at an Asian production base, and the scope covers feed for shrimp farming and fish farming. The fact that international certification has moved at the upstream level of feed means, for Japanese seafood buyers and food makers who source certified shrimp and fish on the other shore, that the range over which proof can be traced in sourcing has extended one step upstream. We dig into the mechanism of why certification of feed, rather than of the final product, tells on export competitiveness.
Vinh Long's BioMar Viet-Uc is the first of BioMar's Asian bases to meet the ASC feed standard
BioMar is a major aquaculture-feed company headquartered in Denmark; in 2021 it formed a joint venture with Vietnam's Viet-Uc Group and has operated a plant in the An Hiep industrial park of Vinh Long province (Ben Tre province before the merger) in the Mekong Delta. This ASC feed certification means that a third party has confirmed that this plant meets ASC's feed standard on the environmental, labor, and sourcing fronts. BioMar's ASC-certified production network has now spread to Asia, following Europe, Latin America, and Oceania.
BioMar Viet-Uc's managing director, Duong Tu, commented that 'this certification is an important milestone for BioMar, BioMar Viet-Uc, and customers across Asia,' positioning it as strengthening the ability to support aquaculture farmers aiming for ASC certification. The meaning of this news lies not in a story of newly building a plant but in proving the substance of an already existing plant against international standards.
To claim ASC shrimp and fish, proof tracing back to the feed is required
ASC certification for farmed seafood is not granted by looking at the farm alone. Including the feed that goes into the ponds and pens, whether you can trace where the raw materials came from and how they were made is at issue. The ASC Feed Standard lays out requirements broadly in the following four areas.
| Evaluation area | What is looked at |
|---|---|
| Environmental responsibility | Management of the environmental burden arising from raw materials such as fish meal and soybeans |
| Labor and social | Elimination of forced and child labor, workers' rights |
| Hygiene and safety | Hygiene management of the manufacturing process and occupational safety |
| Responsible sourcing of raw materials | Securing traceability of fish meal and plant raw materials |
This is the crux of feed certification. No matter how well an aquaculture farmer manages the pond, if the raw materials of the feed being given cannot be traced, the final product's ASC certification is hard to establish. If the feed plant completes this proof first, the farmer who uses that feed gets one segment of certification handled for them. Kona Bay's shrimp seed Balance Pro shaping Japan-bound supply through upstream quality improvement-the same picture has occurred with 'feed,' one step over from seed. It is a chain in which proof of the quality of upstream inputs (seed and feed) pushes up downstream export competitiveness.
When Japanese buyers choose ASC seafood, the feed plant's certification tells
Japanese mass retailers and restaurant chains increasingly demand ASC-certified shrimp and white fish under sustainability sourcing policies. When a buyer orders from an origin 'with ASC certification,' the part the origin side is prone to get stuck on is the feed's proof. If the local feed has no certification backing, the farmer must either source certified feed from afar or give up on obtaining certification itself.
With the Vinh Long plant now able to supply ASC feed, one bottleneck is removed when Mekong Delta shrimp and fish producers advance to ASC certification. As a result, the range over which Japanese buyers can choose seafood 'raised on certified and locally sourced feed' widens. A procurement manager at a certain seafood trading house let slip, regarding inquiries for certified shrimp, that 'if proof of the feed cannot be obtained, the deal collapses at the end.' The feed plant's certification works to reduce that final sticking point.
That said, the proof of sourcing is not closed simply by the feed plant obtaining certification. When a buyer works out the details with an origin, the points to confirm are as follows.
- Whether that farm actually uses BioMar Viet-Uc's certified feed (even if the plant is certified, if other feed is mixed in, the proof does not connect)
- The scope and validity period of the certification (for shrimp or for fish, which product, valid until when)
- Whether the farm's own ASC certification and the CoC (Chain of Custody) certification for processing and distribution are all in place
This move also meshes with the current of Vietnamese fisheries trying to steer from raw-material export toward processing and added value. the effort in Ca Mau where the EU and NGOs are spending nearly four years to turn 'low-emission shrimp' into proof for sourcing Just as in that, this ASC feed certification too supports the transition from 'can make' to 'can prove.' For the Japanese sourcing side, whether the chain of proof has reached all the way upstream of the origin will increasingly become the criterion for selection.
A separate story from De Heus's new plant: the move of 'obtaining certification' that guarantees quality
In Vinh Long province, moves around feed continue. The Dutch-affiliated De Heus newly built a feed plant for offshore aquaculture in the province, preparing the aquaculture capacity ahead of time. But if De Heus's story is 'building a plant and creating supply capacity,' then this BioMar Viet-Uc is 'attaching the quality backing of international certification to already existing supply'-they aim at different ends.
| Viewpoint | De Heus Vinh Long plant | BioMar Viet-Uc |
|---|---|---|
| Main focus | Newly building feed supply capacity | Granting ASC certification to existing supply |
| Who it works for | Quantitative expansion of offshore aquaculture | Guaranteeing quality for farmers aiming for ASC certification |
| Meaning for sourcing | Sourcing options increase | Proof of sourcing can be traced back |
Supply capacity and certification, either one alone, do not lead to sourcing reassurance. The offshore-aquaculture picture in which De Heus built the feed first and this certification are in a complementary relationship. Even if plants increase, if proof does not keep up, it is hard to get onto Japanese shelves; and even with proof, if supply is thin, volume does not come together. Seafood from a region where both have begun to be in place gains weight as a candidate for Japan-bound sourcing.
Certified feed takes over the paperwork that tends to jam farmers' ASC acquisition
The effect of certified feed shows in lightening the farmer's procedural burden. For an aquaculture farmer trying to obtain ASC certification, proof of the feed's provenance is one of the documents hard to assemble on one's own. Using certified feed, that part of the proof can be entrusted to the feed maker's audit. The 'power to support farmers' certification acquisition' that Duong Tu speaks of refers to this taking over of the burden.
That said, even if the feed is certified, unless the farmer's own farm meets ASC's standards on water quality, chemicals, drainage, and the like, the final certification does not come down. Feed certification is one of the necessary conditions, and it alone does not let a farmer claim ASC. From aquaculture people on the ground, one also hears the calm voice that 'being able to get proof of the feed locally is big, but managing the pond is ultimately our own job.' When the Japanese sourcing side evaluates an origin, confirming the feed certification and the farm certification separately makes it easier to avoid dropping the ball in the latter half of a deal.
The Mekong Delta is a region that has carried a corner of Japan-bound supply in both shrimp and white fish. That a feed plant located upstream of it obtained international certification gradually lifts the 'degree to which the whole origin can prove things.' For Japanese buyers, it means one more piece of material for asking whether an origin can be traced all the way back to the feed, not just price and quantity.
Sources referenced
- Aqua Culture Asia Pacific — BioMar expands ASC-certified production network into Asia with BioMar Viet-Uc certification
- Feed & Additive Magazine — BioMar Viet Uc becomes BioMar’s first ASC-certified feed facility in Asia
- BioMar — BioMar and Viet-Uc enter a strategic partnership to develop the aquafeed business in Vietnam
