Squid and octopus for sushi to Japan and South Korea: a Vietnamese food company aims for US$30 million

The Vietnamese food company Liên Việt Xanh Food Group is setting its sights on the Japanese and South Korean markets with processed squid and octopus for sushi toppings. Its 2026 export-revenue target is about US$30 million (about 4.5 billion yen, rough estimate at 150 yen per dollar). It has already piled up about US$16 million in the first half, so the plan is to capture the remaining half in the second. Chairman and president Pham Hong Tuan cites as strengths the corporate stamina built over years of operation and the ability to meet Japan's strict standards, and, seeing demand continuing to improve, explains that the company will secure just enough raw material to fill the orders it has signed. From Dan Tri's reporting, which compiles Vietnam-origin seafood news, we organize the points that buyers handling sushi-topping sourcing for Japan and South Korea, and procurement staff at restaurant chains, should read.

One company sets a US$30 million target for Japan and South Korea in sushi toppings

What Liên Việt Xanh exports are squid tubes (mực ống), cuttlefish (mực nang), bigfin reef squid (mực lá) and octopus (bạch tuộc). All are primary-processed products destined for sushi and sashimi nigiri toppings, gunkan rolls and salad slices. The company sells these narrowly to Japan and South Korea and aims for about US$30 million for full-year 2026. The first-half result of about US$16 million is, by simple arithmetic, on an annual pace, showing the target is not a paper figure.

Chairman Tuan, while stating that the company will secure just enough raw material to fill the orders it has signed, says the immediate challenges are arranging capital and raw material. One can read in this the thinking of processed-goods export—assembling raw material and production to match signed orders—rather than raw-material export left to the market.

From selling as raw material to selling made up as sushi toppings

This move is part of a structural change across Vietnamese seafood as a whole. Led by shrimp, exports are on a recovery trend, and the industry expects US$12.1–12.3 billion for full-year 2026 (up 8–10% from 2025). The January–July cumulative total has already reached about US$6.86 billion (up 11.5% year on year), of which shrimp accounts for about US$2.78 billion (up 12.6%), a little over 40% of the total.

What drives volume growth is shrimp, but what tells on unit price and margin is the processing level. Rather than loading frozen raw material onto ships as is, you skin it, open it into tubes, align the dimensions and grade, and deliver it as a sushi topping. This single extra step pushes up the price. Squid and octopus are not items that move in the volumes of white fish, but their unit price per piece of nigiri is high, and for Japanese foodservice that wants to outsource the labor of prep, a pre-processed supply source is valuable. The value-adding of Vietnamese product VASEP's policy of steering from raw-material export toward processing- it overlaps with that too.

There is also meaning in Liên Việt Xanh choosing squid and octopus rather than shrimp as its main battleground. Shrimp has the larger export value, but that very fact means majors compete and price competition is fierce. Because the market for squid and octopus is smaller, it is easier to differentiate on meeting nigiri-topping specifications and on steady supply, and even a mid-sized firm can make its presence felt by deeply securing a specific market. Narrowing the items to the two markets of Japan and South Korea is a realistic choice that concentrates limited raw material and equipment to secure margin.

Verified figures

Rough yen conversions at 1 dollar ≈ 150 yen. tỷ USD = 1 billion dollars, triệu USD = 1 million dollars. Sources are Dan Tri and company reports.

How it bears on Japanese sushi, conveyor-belt sushi and foodservice procurement

For conveyor-belt sushi and izakaya chains, squid and octopus are staple toppings whose volume is predictable year-round. The domestic raw-squid market tends to be unstable because of poor Japanese flying squid catches, and labor for prep is hard to secure. Here there is room for an overseas maker that can steadily supply processed product cut to nigiri size with uniform yield. Liên Việt Xanh is focusing on Japan and South Korea because the two countries share a sushi and sashimi culture and have close requirement levels for squid and octopus specifications and ways of eating. If one line can serve both markets, production planning becomes easier.

The procurement side should look at more than price. Squid and octopus have large seasonal swings in landings, and the ability to secure raw material directly determines supply stability. Not to be overlooked is that Tuan himself lists 'arranging capital and raw material' as the immediate challenges. How to secure just enough raw material to fill signed orders is the company's lifeline, and before promising long-term fixed quantities, you want to confirm how it manages its raw-material sourcing routes and the turnover of frozen inventory. Vietnamese supply of sushi toppings is also broadening in species, and among white fish, the move by a major shrimp player to make up tilapia as a sushi topping has also emerged. Combining squid and octopus with white fish makes it easier to secure a range of toppings from a single company.

What South Korea as a simultaneous destination means

The design of attacking Japan and South Korea in parallel is more than mere channel diversification. South Korea also consumes a lot of squid and octopus, and demand for processed goods is predictable. Specifications prepared for Japan can be reused for South Korea, and if demand in one falls, the other can absorb it. Examples of Vietnamese processors expanding channels into South Korea are increasing in other items too, as with a law-school-graduate producer who ships herb-prepared sea snails to South Korea As in that case, moves to avoid relying solely on Japan stand out. From the Japanese procurement side, the fact that a supply source has built a track record with South Korea too serves as material for gauging the leveling of its production and the stability of its management.

The supply map of Vietnamese squid and octopus widens

In parallel with processing, moves to stabilize the raw material itself are advancing as well. Squid and octopus depend on wild landings and swing greatly year to year, which has been a weak point of supply. Farming attempts that break away from reliance on capture are starting up in many places, and as the raw-material backing thickens, it becomes easier for processed-goods exporters like Liên Việt Xanh to draw up supply plans. If a Japanese procurement officer partners with one company over the medium to long term, judging whether its processed products depend on wild raw material or possess a mechanism for stable sourcing becomes the premise for promising quantities.

Practical points to nail down in dealings

• Confirm the raw-material sourcing route (own landings or purchased) and the turnover of frozen inventory that smooths seasonal swings.
• For each item—squid tubes, cuttlefish, bigfin reef squid and octopus—align in advance on the nigiri-size cut specifications and yield.
• The company lists arranging capital and raw material as challenges. Secure allocations for peak-demand periods (year-end and holiday seasons) early, and confirm the status of raw-material procurement.
• Assuming dual shipments to Japan and South Korea, pin down whether individual handling of Japan-bound labeling and specifications is possible.
• Factor in that the US$30 million target is a full-year plan and that monthly spare supply capacity varies with market conditions.

Summary

Liên Việt Xanh's US$30 million plan reflects, through the concrete items of squid and octopus, the trend of Vietnamese seafood moving from 'a supplier of cheap raw material' to 'a maker of sushi toppings.' The first-half result of US$16 million backs up the target's realism. For procurement staff at Japanese foodservice and conveyor-belt sushi, it means one more option to secure a range of toppings and good prices while outsourcing the labor of prep. The realistic next move is to start by securing allocations for the peak-demand period and confirming raw-material sourcing routes.

Sources

• Dân trí — Seafood exports, led by shrimp, forecast to top US$12 billion in 2026