Vinh Hoan, Vietnam's largest pangasius producer, won the top prize at Seafood Excellence Asia 2026 for its frozen prepared product made from cured pangasius, "Cured Panga Croquette." The award ceremony was held on September 2, 2026, at the venue of Seafood Expo Asia at the Sands Expo & Convention Centre in Singapore. With the global crunch in whitefish continuing, the recognition of a Vietnamese pangasius that has pushed into processing becomes material that Japan's foodservice and ready-meal procurement — searching for a whitefish substitute — cannot overlook.
Vinh Hoan took first place in the Singapore judging
Seafood Excellence Asia is an award in which Diversified, the organizer of the trade show, selects outstanding Asian seafood products launched in the preceding 18 months. The judging was handled by major retailers and industry experts from Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, and South Korea, who evaluated each product on five points: taste, packaging, marketability, innovation, and ease of preparation. Vinh Hoan's entry passed this judging to be chosen as the top product, and was also featured in the venue's Product Showcase.
Pangasius has until now been known as a raw material supplying white fillets cheaply and in volume. The fact that Vinh Hoan took the top spot in Asia not with fillets but with a finished, prepared product mirrors the production region's aim. The supply source is beginning to shift its footing from a position of selling raw material to one of selling products closer to the table and the store.
A cured-pangasius croquette clad in mashed potato
The award-winning "Cured Panga Croquette" is a frozen ready-to-cook (pre-prepared) product in which ASC-certified pangasius is prepared by a traditional curing method, combined with smoothly mashed potato, and wrapped in a golden coating. It can be prepared by frying, baking, or heating in an air fryer. Curing boosts the base flavor and shelf stability, and shaping it into a croquette gives it the convenience of being ready to serve straight after thawing.
ASC certification is proof that the environmental and social standards of aquaculture have been met, and more European and Japanese retailers are citing it as a sourcing condition. A design that layers processing value on top of a certified raw material creates a different arena from raw-material exports that compete on price alone. The moves by production regions over ASC certification also appear the case of a shrimp-farming cooperative in Ca Mau obtaining ASC certification and certification is becoming a passport for export.
The 18-month rule and judges from five Asian countries
The top three products this time were all processed goods that reduced the labor of cooking. The rankings are as follows, with Vietnam taking first place over the Singaporean entries.
| Rank | Company (country) | Product |
|---|---|---|
| First place | Vinh Hoan (Vietnam) | Cured Panga Croquette |
| Second place | Lam Kee Fisheries (Singapore) | Japanese Curry Cod Cube |
| 3rd | Hai Sia Seafood (Singapore) | Kami No Ebi (shrimp) |
That a Japanese-style curry-flavored cod took second place and a shrimp product bearing a Japanese name took third is also not to be overlooked. In a pattern where the Asian judges rated products conscious of Japanese seasoning and the Japanese market highly, the direction Japan's foodservice and ready-meal sector seeks and the production region's development are drawing closer.
Where it works as a whitefish substitute for Japan
The implication for the Japanese side comes into sharp relief when read in the context of the whitefish crunch. Conventional whitefish such as cod and Alaska pollock remain the subject of worldwide scrambling, and prices are holding high. Vietnamese pangasius can slip into this gap as material for fried dishes, fish sandwiches, and prepared foods. The room the global whitefish shortage opens for pangasius was an article dealing with the whitefish crunch and the gap in foodservice procurement covered there in detail.
A finished product like a croquette reduces in-store prep, so it suits short-staffed foodservice and ready-meal operations well. With ASC certification attached, it also fits the sourcing conditions of chains that tout environmental consideration. If testing it for commercial use, a realistic process is first to verify, in a small lot, the salinity of the curing, the oil absorption of the coating, and the yield of cooking it from frozen.
A phase in which pangasius moves from volume to quality
Vinh Hoan's award symbolizes a change of direction across the whole production region. Pangasius exports to Japan are shifting from a stage of sending cheap fillets in volume to a stage of raising the degree of processing to capture unit price. The move in which the ratio of processed goods signals supply room is an analysis of exports to Japan heading from volume to quality as summarized there, and this croquette lies on that same line.
Buy it as raw material, or buy it already prepared. For Japanese buyers, having more options is also an occasion to review their own processing steps and staffing. Importing a finished product spares domestic processing costs, while the freedom in seasoning drops. Which to take depends on store operations and the design of cost.
Checks foodservice and ready-meal procurement staff will want to try
If considering prepared Vietnamese pangasius products, three moves are practical. First, obtain certificates of environmental and quality standards such as ASC for each product, and match them against your own sourcing criteria. Second, verify the salt content, the oil content, and the texture after thawing in a small-lot test that assumes your actual store menu. Third, obtain quotes for both the fillet raw material and the finished product, and line up and compare the costs of the cases with and without inserting domestic processing. Now that whitefish is being scrambled for worldwide, a supply source that has aligned certification and processing is a counterpart worth considering before price negotiations.
Local reporting referenced
This article was composed based on reporting by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), with the award name and product specifications confirmed.
