PDO Phu Quoc fish sauce in Vietnam

Abstract

The Phu Quoc fish sauce is a product out of anchovies fished and processed around and on the Vietnamese island of Phu Quoc and sea salt from the area of Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Phan Thiet. The product which has acquired an excellent reputation over the last 200 years thanks to its dark red-brown colour, salty, strong sweet with natural fatty taste and its delicate special smell. The product has been known outside its home island since the late 1950s and became very popular between 1965 and 1975. In 2001, the Phu Quoc fish sauce was the first product to obtain the Geographical Indication (GI) status in Vietnam. In 2012, Phu Quoc fish sauce was granted the European Union Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status, once again as the first Vietnamese product to achieve this recognition. The price premium at the fishing stage is very small and is bigger at the processing and distribution levels. The processing and distribution levels show the largest difference in net results between the PDO and the Non-PDO, while the fishing level shows a small difference. The PDO Phu Quoc fish sauce is exported abroad less than the Non-PDO one, which reflects positively on the food miles indicator, measured as distance travelled. The positive differential performance of the PDO Phu Quoc fish sauce, compared to the Non-PDO one, in the social indicators is determined also by the significant involvement of females in all the stages of the value chain, except for the fishing one where more men are employed.