Yearbook

45TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE COMPANY'S ESTABLISHMENT

PREFACE

Over the past 45 years, with relentless efforts, the Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu Seafood Processing and Export Joint Stock Company (BASEAFOOD) has become one of the leading seafood processing enterprises in the province in terms of both processed product output and export turnover. BASEAFOOD-branded products are increasingly trusted and widely promoted in the global seafood market.

From the brink of dissolution, decline, and bankruptcy in the 1990s, BASEAFOOD has risen after being strengthened and restructured by the province, changing its management method to a joint-stock model and comprehensively transforming its operational model. As a result, the company has become more efficient and developed with many breakthroughs. To date, the company has over 100 business management staff and more than 1,000 professional processing workers, capable of competing in the market and producing high-quality products for the international market. The company’s factories have been built to HACCP standards with modern machinery and equipment, managed according to BRC, ASC, MSC, IFS, HALAL, and FDA standards, capable of producing high-quality seafood products for demanding markets. This is also a time to recognize the achievements of the diligent workforce who have tirelessly produced value-added products, highly appreciated by many customers worldwide.

With 45 years of formation and development, BASEAFOOD continues its journey with more professional and modern steps to participate more deeply in the increasingly open free trade market. At the same time, it meets the increasingly stringent demands of difficult foreign partners and enhances the competitiveness of products in export markets.

45 years - not a long journey, but enough to affirm the maturity and development of BASEAFOOD. On this occasion, the company’s leadership proudly introduces the yearbook “BASEAFOOD 45 years of building and development” to acknowledge and affirm the efforts, solidarity, and cooperation of the leadership, staff, and workers in building the position and brand of BASEAFOOD today. This is also a traditional educational material passed down to the younger generation and successors to study, learn, and draw valuable lessons for future implementation.

Sincerely, THE EDITORIAL BOARD

PREAMBLE

A Few Words of Self-Reflection by Nguyễn Công Luân
(Former Director of Baseafood Company (1992-1996))

From 1976 to 1980, after the country was unified, the seafood industry entered a new phase of development nationwide. The industry’s prominence was marked by the establishment of the Ministry of Fisheries in 1976 (later renamed the Ministry of Aquaculture) and the formation of local fisheries management agencies according to the geographical and administrative boundaries of each locality. Đồng Nai Fisheries was established during this historical period.

In the early days of the establishment of the Đồng Nai Fisheries Department, due to a lack of management personnel, the Đồng Nai Provincial Party Committee appointed Ms. Đoàn Thị Khanh (Ms. Mười Hai), a standing member of the Provincial Party Committee, as the Head of the Đồng Nai Fisheries Department. The Ministry of Aquaculture also dispatched a deputy director from the Quảng Ninh Fisheries Department to support leadership for six months, and Mr. Hoàng Bá Thu was appointed as the Deputy Director in charge of the overall operations of the Đồng Nai Fisheries Company. I was a technical officer responsible for procurement and processing, along with several other operational staff.

At this time, due to an inappropriate management mechanism, the harvested products were consumed through a product submission method, and results were evaluated based on the volume of goods, without focusing on the value of the products.

From 1980, the Đồng Nai Fisheries sector welcomed a new leader, Mr. Nguyễn Thuận (Mr. Ba Thuận), a secretary member of the Đồng Nai Provincial People’s Committee, who became the Director of the Fisheries Department. Under Mr. Nguyễn Thuận’s leadership, the Đồng Nai Fisheries sector entered a new phase of development in exploitation, aquaculture, logistics services, processing, and export; promoting research and application of scientific and technological advancements in production and expanding international cooperation.

However, at that time, Đồng Nai Province did not have a seafood processing plant, only a small freezing workshop in Vũng Tàu City left by the old regime, which only performed preliminary processing and quick consumption, thus not bringing about effective results.

The leadership team of Baseafood Company took a commemorative photo with the management staff of its affiliated units at the company office, located at 460 Trương Công Định, Ward 8, Vũng Tàu City

The fortunate thing for me is that during my career, I received the attention of the industry leaders and participated in important meetings. Through these, I learned that Đồng Nai province was detaining two foreign fishing vessels for violating Vietnam’s territorial waters. These vessels had high-capacity, advanced refrigeration systems. I proposed dismantling all the refrigeration equipment from these two vessels and collaborating with the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology to design a factory and manufacture additional suitable equipment to complete a relatively modern refrigeration plant at that time. The Đồng Nai Refrigeration Enterprise was inaugurated in 1983.

At the same time, the establishment of the Vietnam Seafood Import-Export Company - Seaprodex was allowed by the State to apply the “self-balancing - self-financing” mechanism, which essentially increased the value of the products produced. This was a driving force for the development of the Đồng Nai seafood industry. Through initial success and leveraging resources, the Đồng Nai Seafood Export Enterprise Union (the predecessor of the current Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Seafood Processing and Export Joint Stock Company - BASEAFOOD) focused on and prioritized investment in seafood processing and export. Combined with the dynamism of the leadership team and the professionalism of the staff over the years, this brought practical results, diversified goods with stable product quality, expanded export markets, and increased export turnover year by year. It also provided jobs and income for thousands of local workers.

Looking back, I realize that almost my entire life has been tied to the seafood industry. The working process through each stage had many ups and downs and different emotions. However, when I reached the age of retirement to enjoy time with my grandchildren, I witnessed BASEAFOOD growing stronger and enhancing its reputation in the market. With a dynamic, enthusiastic leadership team and a professional staff and workforce as it is now, I believe BASEAFOOD will grow even stronger and bring more benefits to workers, the locality, and society. I wish my colleagues and their families good health and success. I wish BASEAFOOD sustainable development.

Don’t be discouraged by rough seas

LET’S HOLD HANDS AND MOVE FORWARD TOGETHER! In 1976, at the age of 20, I started working at the Đồng Nai Seafood Company (the predecessor of BASEAFOOD) and was assigned to purchase shrimp in Duyên Hải district, Cần Giờ. From a high school student who knew nothing about shrimp and fish, through many tasks and relocations, and the ups and downs of life, 45 years have passed - with only one profession, one locality, one system.

In 1999, I was assigned by my superiors to the Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Seafood Processing and Export Company (BASEAFOOD) with the leadership task in a context of many difficulties and complexities. I had no experience in solving financial, market, and labor issues, so I was very confused. With the encouragement of provincial leaders and functional sectors, the support of credit organizations, and the assistance and advice of colleagues and workers in the company, I was motivated to manage and gradually resolve obstacles, bringing the company and its facilities into orderly operation.

With such advantages and my own efforts, over the past 20 years, the company has gradually overcome many difficulties: upgrading the factory to international standards, equipping it with many modern and advanced machines, managing according to global requirements, and most importantly, providing stable jobs for over 1,000 workers - securing a firm position in both domestic and international markets.

A significant turning point in the company’s operations was the implementation of the equitization policy as directed by the province in 2004. Although it was a new task, it created a new breeze for autonomous operations: self-management and self-responsibility for all work. This policy helped the company reorganize its management and business operations in a “decentralized” manner, different from the previous “centralized” method. This new method allowed facility leaders to autonomously manage their work, yielding impressive results. Production and value, along with efficiency, increased exponentially, wages doubled, even tripled compared to before, and workers were enthusiastic about their work.

Quality is the lifeline of a business. Its measure is customer satisfaction, increasing orders, and the expanding scope of the company’s business operations worldwide. With this survival awareness, the company has boldly adjusted wage and bonus mechanisms for workers, paid more attention to other policies, and created opportunities for everyone to study, improve their knowledge and skills, take care of their health, and travel domestically and internationally.

With an annual production of over 10,000 tons of finished products, sales of over 1,200 billion VND, and an import-export turnover of 60 million USD, the company’s goal remains unchanged: PROFESSIONALISM - DYNAMISM - DEVELOPMENT. The company always adheres to the management method of centralized democracy and individual responsibility. Although operating under the equitization method with 100% private capital, financial management remains the same, with a transparent accounting system. Annual independent audits are conducted. All activities are reported to the Board of Directors and the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders. Organizations such as the Party, Trade Union, and Youth Union are established and operate continuously and correctly.

With the above achievements, the company has been awarded many Certificates of Merit, Emulation Flags, and prestigious Medals by the Party, State, Government, and the People’s Committee of Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu province for collectives and individuals. Over the past 45 years, a long journey has recorded what has been done and the shortcomings that need to be remembered to overcome. We always remember the contributions and support of the leaders, departments, and agencies in the province, and we are grateful to the pioneers who established the seafood industry and processing facilities for us to inherit today’s career. We also do not forget the colleagues who have worked at the company over the years, who have retired or moved elsewhere, and have contributed their efforts to create this success.

The success journey also includes significant contributions from domestic and international customers who have provided raw materials, technical guidance, cooperation, and trade over the years. The banking sector has truly been a companion to the business by providing timely financial support. The future goals are long and wide open, with many opportunities and challenges ahead, requiring the collective leadership and all employees in the company to strive, unite, and work harder to complete the tasks and plans set out, not to disappoint the attention of the leaders at all levels, shareholders, and customers who have placed their trust in us. That trust can only become a reality when BASEAFOOD successfully builds and implements effective short-term and long-term strategies. Let’s hold hands and move forward together!

Vũng Tàu, April 2022

In the early days of our country’s seafood import and export industry, as well as in Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu province and the predecessor of BASEAFOOD Company, marine resources were still abundant, but processing technology and techniques were not yet developed. We often exported raw and semi-processed seafood. However, from around 1997 to the present, the situation of raw material fishing and marine resources has become increasingly scarce, along with the impact of the global economic crisis in 1997, the export market narrowed, causing difficulties for seafood export enterprises. Recognizing the issue of raw material shortages and the increasing demand for deeply processed products from major export markets, which are becoming increasingly stringent in terms of quality, the Board of Directors of BASEAFOOD Company pioneered a comprehensive development strategy for new value-added products, ahead of other enterprises in the province. To produce value-added products, we aimed to shift the product structure, limit the production of raw goods, and focus on target markets, serving high-quality products for table service.

In 2000, with a revenue of 4 million USD, we had to produce 2,600 tons. The main structure consisted of Surimi products, whole fish, and whole button squid. By 2021, revenue increased to 45 million USD, but our production volume was only 8,000 tons. Over more than 20 years, the revenue index increased 11 times in 2021 compared to 2000, while the production volume only tripled. This is the result of a long-term value-added product strategy, addressing the raw material issue in the seafood industry and bringing significant economic, social, and environmental benefits: Export products use less raw materials, reducing dependence on caught raw materials; products incorporate technological and labor value, indirectly exporting labor; addressing environmental issues, reducing wastewater and emissions; raising worker awareness, jointly building and applying quality management systems, always creating safe, high-quality products; ensuring food safety and environmental friendliness.

Since the privatization in 2004, the company has operated under a new mechanism: self-management and self-responsibility, allowing the company’s leadership to be autonomous in managing work. Since then, the Board of Directors has boldly shifted investment towards production, renovating factories, building cold storage systems, investing in new machinery and equipment, and innovating in production. Specifically, the company has researched and developed machinery systems for high-quality value-added production such as: production conveyor belts, semi-finished product washing machines, seafood boiling and cooling machines, and automatic grilling systems. As a result, we have been able to launch new value-added products: breaded octopus, sushi octopus, boiled and blanched octopus, breaded fish and shrimp, grilled fish, and seasoned fish, helping the company maintain stable quality. Maintaining product standards and implementing the value-added product strategy creates a competitive advantage for the company, a key factor for competing in the market and keeping up with current trends. Maintaining and applying standards is carried out throughout all stages: raw materials, machinery, production processes, product inspection and evaluation processes, packaging, and distribution to consumers. In these stages, management and production workers play a decisive role, they must comply with standards and meet requirements in all stages from production to product consumption.

With our strong capabilities in machinery and factory equipment, a team of skilled production managers and workers, and the application of quality management systems such as HACCP CODEX, BRC, MSC, HALAL, FDA, KFDA, etc., we are confident in our sustainable development with the strategic goal of developing new products. In the near future, besides diversifying new products based on high value-added items, we will proactively source raw materials to reduce dependence on caught raw materials. We are also focusing resources on developing high-quality farmed products for the Japanese market. In 2021, we achieved an export revenue of 5.5 million USD from value-added shrimp products, accounting for 12% of our revenue. We continue to research and develop a diverse range of products, creating a competitive advantage in terms of product differentiation and price, targeting markets in the USA, Canada, and Japan.

Over 45 years of formation and development of the seafood industry in Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu province and BASEAFOOD Company, under the wise leadership and appropriate business strategies of the former company leaders and the current Board of Directors, the most significant transformation and growth has been in the proportion of value-added products in the export product structure, creating a competitive advantage for the company over other enterprises in the province. The production and business indicators have consistently maintained and grown over the years, providing a solid foundation for building the BASEAFOOD brand, making it one of the leading companies in developing value-added products, contributing to the achievements of the seafood industry in Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu province.

Founded in 1976, Đồng Nai Seafood Company (the predecessor of BASEAFOOD) has always leveraged its advantages and innovated for development. In the trend of integration, the company has always considered export as a driving force and priority for deeper and more extensive investment, creating a strong transformation in production and business processes, enhancing capacity, expanding operational scale, creating many jobs, increasing income for workers, and significantly contributing to the State budget.

Having started working at Đồng Nai Seafood Company in 1982, with the task of planning, I had the opportunity to monitor and update annual performance data, thereby affirming the continuous development of the company through each period.

Specifically, during the period from 1976 to 1992, this was the formation stage, operating under a centralized mechanism, with production and business activities following the state’s plan. From 1993 to 1998, the state-owned enterprise BR-VT Seafood Import-Export Union was split by the BR-VT Provincial People’s Committee to form two state-owned enterprises, including the BR-VT Seafood Processing and Export Company (BASEAFOOD), which was established in October 1992 and began operations in 1993. The company’s operations until 1998 were ineffective. The peak of export turnover during this period was in 1996, reaching 10.03 million USD.

However, in 1997 and 1998, the company fell into a continuous recession for two years. Despite many measures proposed by the BR-VT Provincial People’s Committee to revive it, the company’s production and business situation remained bleak, unable to purchase raw materials for production, failing to create products, breaking relationships with traditional customers, with export turnover in 1997 reaching only 4.05 million USD and in 1998 only approximately 0.70 million USD; many workers left, from 500-600 people to just over 100 people.

From 1999 to 2004, the BR-VT Provincial People’s Committee decided to appoint new personnel to manage the company. This was a period of orientation and consolidation for development. With the support of provincial departments and the application of many drastic measures, the new leadership of the company gradually overcame difficulties, revived production and business activities, and increased export turnover.

From 2005 to 2021, following the State’s policy, BASEAFOOD successfully transformed into a joint-stock company in 2004. This innovation helped the company reorganize its management and business operations appropriately. Production and export turnover developed remarkably.

Looking back over 45 years - a journey of construction and development, BASEAFOOD has always proactively led in international integration, promoting the application of advanced science and technology in production, linking production with trade promotion and expanding export markets, focusing on innovating quality management and product safety methods. Therefore, during the production and business process, many positive achievements have been attained.

The Export Seafood Processing Enterprise III has just been inaugurated and put into operation at the Lộc An seafood industrial cluster. It is a large-scale unit, newly invested 100% with modern machinery and equipment mainly imported from the EU, meeting the world’s leading quality standards in the food industry such as ISO 22000, BRC, IFS, HACCP Codex. These are the most important premises that will help the enterprise become a key unit of our Company in the near future. Building and implementing a correct, creative, and flexible production and business strategy will help the enterprise achieve the above core goals. This strategy will be oriented based on three fundamental pillars:

1. Building input raw material sources sufficient to meet the enterprise’s capacity. The designed capacity of the factory is 4,500 tons of finished products per year, meaning that approximately 9,000 tons of various seafood raw materials need to be purchased annually. To ensure sufficient raw materials for production, the enterprise needs to simultaneously carry out three purchasing activities.

   • First, the source of seafood raw materials from fishing activities is increasingly scarce, so it cannot rely heavily on purchasing raw materials locally or from neighboring provinces. The ability to directly purchase raw materials is only about 30-35%.

   • Second, the source of semi-finished and finished products purchased from other processing plants. To achieve this, the enterprise will have to build a supply chain by linking with other units, based on the strengths of the linked parties and strong economic relationships within the supply chain to create mutual benefits and synergy for the supply chain. This source can ensure about 25-30% of the enterprise’s input.

   • Third, increasing the import of raw materials from abroad. This activity is becoming increasingly important and must aim to establish a dedicated department to ensure the supply of about 30-40% of the total raw materials needed for the enterprise’s production.

2.  Building a workforce (both direct and indirect) sufficient to meet the factory’s operations. This is truly a significant challenge for the enterprise. According to the development rule, the economy usually shifts from labor-intensive to capital-intensive (money, machinery, technology), so the direct labor force will become increasingly scarce, and this is an inevitable trend. Therefore, during the enterprise’s development process, it is necessary to research and improve production stages to gradually replace human labor with technology. This requires encouraging every individual in the enterprise, especially direct workers, to contribute their ideas. Collecting their ideas can help us identify types of machinery or even create certain labor tools. Experience shows that direct workers’ contributions often lead to important, cost-effective improvements and quicker results compared to the creative research of highly educated teams. A common shortcoming is that leaders and managers often overlook the small innovative ideas of workers and do not appreciate these creative improvements. We need to change this mindset by listening to innovative ideas from the “bottom up.” Additionally, for the indirect workforce, it is essential to focus on two basic factors: work attitude and training level. According to ASK, the performance of the indirect workforce depends 70% on attitude and 30% on training level. To meet the increasingly high job requirements and integrate with advanced global management levels, it is necessary to train the indirect workforce in both work attitude and professional skills. For a long time, we have been very determined in recruiting and upgrading their professional skills but have never trained them on work attitude. This is a shortcoming that needs to be addressed in the near future.
3.  The activity of finding product consumption markets. Until now, we have always considered this activity the most important and have focused a lot of effort on finding customers. Therefore, we have found many customers in many important markets around the world, including the USA, Canada, Russia, and Japan. The technical foundation (Internet) and the professional, language, and computer skills of this team have developed very quickly, and thus we can now easily interact with customers through tools developed on the Internet platform. However, B2B customer purchasing behavior is not simply based on interactions through these tools but on trust and the reputation of the Company or individuals who have had relationships with them over time. To build sustainable business relationships with customers, we must bring them benefits by fulfilling their orders promptly, with good quality, courteous and sincere service, and accompanying services to serve them in the fastest and most creative way without increasing our costs, so they can feel secure and increasingly attached to us.

The Export Seafood Processing Enterprise IV is a unit under BASEAFOOD Company, established in 2003, specializing in the production of export seafood.

The main products of the Enterprise are dried fish fillets such as yellowstripe scad, lizardfish, black pomfret, threadfin bream, and monocle bream. Among these, yellowstripe scad and lizardfish are the primary products. The annual production volume is about 200 to 300 tons of finished products. The main export markets of the enterprise are the EU, Russia, Ukraine, Japan, and Taiwan. These are demanding markets that require high product quality.

In recent years, many seafood processing plants have been established, creating significant competition in the seafood export market. In this context, the Enterprise has been compelled to improve techniques and manage quality according to HACCP standards to meet customer requirements for product quality. The HK 173 code was introduced in 2005.

With a team of technicians trained by Nafi, the Enterprise consistently adheres to production, continuously improving techniques to create quality products through various measures. First, analyzing the stages of the production process to identify potential hazards that could compromise product safety, known as Critical Control Points (CCPs), and applying measures to manage, monitor, and regularly address these hazards (including microbiological, chemical, and physical hazards) to prevent them from affecting product safety.

Second, investing in upgrading the factory to meet standards: ensuring it is well-ventilated, clean, and free from pollution, making production easier and more convenient, while also facilitating sanitation practices, preventing insect intrusion, and avoiding cross-contamination. Third, maintaining annual health check-ups for workers, arranging labor appropriately, and providing adequate protective equipment. Regularly supplementing and learning quality management criteria for managers and workers. Fourth, establishing and strictly implementing regular and periodic sanitation regimes for the factory, machinery, equipment, and tools to prevent product contamination through equipment.

By applying international management standards (HACCP) over the years, the Enterprise’s products have ensured absolute safety for consumers and satisfied the most demanding customers in the global market.

The role of quality management according to HACCP standards at the Enterprise is currently given top priority, as it is the foundation for capturing and expanding the market and enhancing the company’s position. Quality management allows the unit to identify the right direction for product improvement, suitable to customer expectations.

Production is a crucial stage that adds value to the product. In terms of quality, these are the useful characteristics of the product that serve the increasingly higher needs of people. To improve product quality, besides investing in new machinery, we focus on technical improvements in the production stages such as drying and processing techniques.

Through the time of managing and operating the Enterprise, I have realized that production must meet customer quality requirements and comply with international standards, specifically HACCP and EU standards, which are the most critical factors. This is the survival of the business. Therefore, under the Company’s direction, the Enterprise always adheres to the motto: “Product quality is the survival of the Enterprise.” This principle is directed from top to bottom, to every worker, and is regularly checked monthly, quarterly, and annually according to Nafi and Company regulations to maintain the reputation of Baseafood and code HK 173 in both domestic and international markets.