Dinh Van Hao, a 9X-generation engineer who graduated in biotechnology from the University of Sciences at Hue University and had handled technical management and technology transfer of mushroom production at a company in the south, returned to his hometown of Hue because jobs that make use of his specialty are scarce in the central region, and got oyster mushroom (gray oyster, nam bao ngu xam) cultivation using local acacia sawdust as a substrate onto a stable footing. In Thuan Vinh ward of Hue, he prepares 5,000 bags per cycle, with monthly sales of 30-40 million VND. This case, reported by the Vietnamese agricultural outlet Dan Viet on July 30, 2026, is also a clue for Japanese dried-goods and food-ingredient procurement staff to read how a region's operators arise and what can be reproduced.
Dinh Van Hao, who quit a technical management post in the south, launched 5,000-bag oyster mushroom cultivation in his hometown of Hue
Hao's background is closer to that of a researcher than a farmer. A K40-cohort biotechnology major at the University of Sciences at Hue University, he interned at a mushroom farm on An Duong Vuong Street in Hue in his second year and conducted on-campus research on mushrooms themselves in his third and fourth years. After graduating he was engaged in managing technical projects and technology transfer at a company in the south. In other words, it is a picture of a person who was on the side of teaching others how to make, turning to the side of preparing it himself as an operator.
The motive for returning home is not only a positive aspiration. Job openings that make use of biotechnology expertise are scarce in central Hue, and he went independent by bringing back the cultivation technology he accumulated in the south. He prepares 5,000 bags per lot; mycelial spread (colony formation) takes 1.5 months, and the subsequent harvest 3.5 months. The turnaround of one lot is about five months, but by staggering lots he runs it so that the harvest does not break off year-round. We have seen many Vietnamese operators who quit as mechanics or accountants and turned to aquaculture, but in connecting his major and former-job technology directly to a producing region, Hao's career switch the case of a law graduate earning JPY 1.18 million in daily sales from whelk farming differs in nature. Rather than discarding his prior career, he brings its substance in.
In Hue, where rubberwood is unavailable, Hao chose acacia sawdust as the substrate
What is easily overlooked in this case from a procurement standpoint is the issue of substrate choice rather than cultivation volume or sales. Rubberwood sawdust, widely used in mushroom cultivation, is hard to obtain around Hue. So Hao set acacia (keo) sawdust, abundant in the central region, as the substrate. Acacia wood is the mainstay of afforestation and sawmilling in central Vietnam, and sawdust comes out locally, cheaply and steadily as a sawmilling byproduct. What to use in place of rubberwood is not a mere substitute but a condition that decides where a producing region can be located.
Looking at the accumulation of cultivation research as well, acacia sawdust is treated as an effective substrate on a par with rubberwood, and supplementary addition of rice bran and lime to adjust the yield is considered standard. There are reports that mycelial extension is somewhat faster on rubberwood, but the significance of being able to use a byproduct that can be sourced locally without interruption takes effect in the form of transport cost and supply stability. If the substrate can be reconfigured to suit a region's forestry byproducts, producing regions can spread from the rubber-forest south to the acacia-forest central region. the Phu Tho case of earning 700 million VND a year on the floor of an idle forest turned the forest itself into a revenue source, whereas Hao turns the waste wood coming out of the forest into cultivation material. Even with the same 'forest and mushrooms,' the way value is extracted runs in opposite directions.
Monthly sales of 30-40 million VND are roughly JPY 180,000-240,000, with harvests totaling 680 kg across three rounds
Let us convert the reported 30-40 million VND a month into Japanese yen. At an approximation of about 170 VND per JPY 1 (a guide as of the end of July 2026), it comes to roughly JPY 180,000-240,000 a month. From the wording of the report, however, it cannot be determined whether this amount is sales itself or take-home after deducting expenses. Since it is said to have been 15-20 million VND (roughly JPY 90,000-120,000 a month) at the outset when prices were low, one can read that a rise in unit price pushed the level up. Because the exchange rate fluctuates, this conversion is only a guide and is not stated as definitive.
The harvest is taken in three rounds per cycle, tapering from about 250 kg the first time to about 230 kg the second and about 200 kg the third. Converted per bag, that is about 136 g per cycle (680 kg / 5,000 bags), which gives a practical sense of mushroom-cultivation yield.
| Item | Figure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Preparation per cycle | 5,000 bags | Substrate = acacia sawdust |
| First harvest | About 250 kg | Tapering thereafter |
| Second harvest | About 230 kg | |
| Third harvest | About 200 kg | Three-round total about 680 kg |
| Cultivation period | Mycelium 1.5 months + harvest 3.5 months (about 5 months per lot) | Staggered lots for year-round harvest |
| Monthly revenue | 30-40 million VND | Approx. JPY 180,000-240,000 a month (about 170 VND per JPY 1) |
As the scale of an individual operation, it is small. But what the procurement side should look at is not the absolute amount but the tapering pattern, the unit-price sensitivity, and how readable the substrate cost is. Byproduct-derived substrates tend not to be swayed by the market of a main raw material, and a region whose cost can be read is easy to evaluate as a premise for continued trade.
Oyster mushroom can become a food-OEM raw material in Japan as a dried, powdered or stock ingredient
Fresh oyster mushroom does not keep, and cross-border shipping of it as-is is not realistic. Only once a processing step such as drying, powdering or extract is inserted does it reach a state where it can be considered as a procurement raw material. In Japan's commercial market, mushroom-derived umami ingredients circulate alongside dried shiitake powder and scallop extract, and for oyster mushroom the realistic entry points are around the umami base of instant noodles and retort foods, mushroom blend powder, and the base for vegan soups. Put the other way, it presupposes that drying equipment and a grinding step are in place on the producing side; as fresh product it cannot even stand at the entrance to negotiation.
If a Japanese manufacturer actually makes an inquiry, the items to check are more or less set: dried form (slices or powder), moisture specification, total plate count, residual pesticides and heavy metals, supply lots per month, drying yield, storage and transport method, and proof of origin. A raw material for which figures in this area do not come out is hard to adopt even if it tastes good. A mushroom whose post-drying moisture and plate count are not visible, in particular, cannot be put straight onto a processing line. It is difficult for a Hue producer to arrange all this alone, so if the Japanese side buys, the realistic form is to receive lots via a regional primary processor or collector rather than directly from this farmer.
This reinterpretation is, in Vietnamese seafood, the same logic as the phase in which VASEP is urging a shift from raw-material export to processing. Rather than putting out raw material as-is, insert primary processing of drying and powdering to raise unit price and shelf life. The same design applies to mushrooms. From our own experience continuing to source dried-vegetable raw materials at Agriture, whether one primary-processing step is added at the producing region greatly changes whether trade with Japan is possible.
Hao's strength lies less in cultivation itself than in reconfiguring the process to suit the climate
A standard procedure established in the south cannot be reproduced simply by bringing it to central Hue as-is. The substrate changes to acacia, and humidity and temperature conditions differ too. What Hao did was to break down the standard procedure with his biotechnology grounding, swap the substrate for acacia sawdust, and accordingly tune the addition of rice bran and lime and the moisture management to the central climate. Not a personal 'knack' but process knowledge that can be reconfigured to suit conditions, this is also the asset that is easiest to transfer and easiest to roll out from a regional-development standpoint.
Seen from the procurement front, whether an operator depends on one person's craft skill or holds it as a reproducible process sways the stability of supply. The former stops if the person drops out, while the latter can be spread to other producers. Whether the acacia-sawdust oyster mushroom that has started up in Hue ends as Hao's one-person side business or becomes the starting point of a producing region using central-region forestry byproducts hinges on how far this process knowledge is shared. If Japanese procurement staff put central-Vietnam mushrooms on their candidate list, what they should look at is not the current monthly sales but this reproducibility.
