Even though their product was officially granted certification for Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) on Monday, producers of the famous Phu Quoc fish sauce remain concerned over the approaching raw material shortage and the battle against fake products.

A delegation from the European Union recently visited Phu Quoc Island, Kien Giang Province, to organize a PDO-granting ceremony for local fish sauce producers and the local government.

The PDO will enable Phu Quoc fish sauce to be protected across the 28 countries of the EU. It will also help eliminate unhealthy competition, enabling high-quality fish sauce producers from Vietnam to expand their market share in Europe.

This is the first Vietnamese product to receive a PDO for the entire EU.

Acquiring the PDO has been seen as a stepping stone for Vietnam in seeking the same protection mechanism for many other Vietnamese agro-products in the EU.

Material leakage

However, local fish sauce makers are facing a series of tough challenges, one of which is fierce competition in buying anchovy, the core raw material needed to produce the sauce.

Nguyen Thi Tinh, chairwoman of the Phu Quoc Fish Sauce Association, said some 200 tons of anchovy are bought and transported off the island on a daily basis. This has made it difficult for local producers to buy enough raw materials for their work.

“Should this issue remain unsolved, in the next five to ten years, the traditional job of making Phu Quoc fish sauce will become extinct,” Tinh said.

“If that were to happen, the fact that we are protected by the PDO in 28 EU countries and territories would be meaningless,” she added.

There are some 100 fish sauce production facilities on Phu Quoc, who produce a combined 30 million liters of the sauce per year, according to the association.

However, production is dropping, as the competition for raw materials has driven up anchovy prices to VND18,000-20,000 per kg, three times higher than the average rate in previous years.

Despite the rising input cost, local fish sauce makers are finding it hard to increase their product prices as the retailing is done by their partners on the mainland, such as retailers in Ho Chi Minh City.

Moreover, other fish sauce products sold under the Phu Quoc label are rampant, exacerbating the hardship of the authentic manufacturers.

Consequently, a third of the facilities in Phu Quoc have had to go bankrupt or cut production due to losses.