HANOI - Mitsui & Co., Ltd, announced on May 16 that it has reached an agreement to acquire a 35.1% equity interest in Minh Phu Seafood Joint Stock Company, one of the world’s largest shrimp producers.

The deal allows the Japanese company to invest further in the Vietnamese company. In 2013, Mitsui invested in Minh Phu Hau Giang Joint Stock Company (MPHG), a processing plant affiliated with Minh Phu.

Minh Phu owns two processing plants and shrimp farms covering a combined area of 900 hectares in southern Vietnam. It has built a strong position by vertically integrating all stages of the industry from shrimp farming to processing and sales.

Minh Phu has an extensive range of products, including value-added products, which are exported to some 50 countries, such as the United States and Japan.

By investing in the parent company, Mitsui will be able to apply the initiatives developed at MPHG across the entire Minh Phu Group and to leverage the sales networks established by Mitsui’s global group to expand the company’s sales.

Mitsui will also help Minh Phu achieve further growth through the application of digital technology, including using artificial intelligence in farming ponds and at processing plants and enhancing the efficiency of the shrimp supply chain from farming to marketing.

Mitsui has identified nutrition and agriculture as new growth areas under its medium-term management plan. World demand for sustainable proteins is expanding along with population growth and the expansion of the middle class globally.

Through this investment, Mitsui will continue its efforts to improve productivity, stability and the sustainability of supply, while adding value to food products.

Shrimp is one of Vietnam’s main agricultural exports. With the acquisition of one of the largest players in the shrimp sector, seafood exports are expected to witness a significant change in 2019.

The value of seafood exports in April is estimated at US$694 million, pushing the total value of the sector in the first four months of 2019 to US$2.5 billion, up 2.4% over the same period in 2018, according to the latest report from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Japan, the United States, China and South Korea were the top four import markets for Vietnam’s seafood in the first quarter of this year, accounting for more than half of the total seafood export value.