With a population of nearly 100 million and strength in cultivating spice plants, Vietnam has substantial potential for , consumption and export.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) believes that the fish sauce industry has great potential to develop like the wine industry.

Sa Chau village has long been famous for the traditional production of fish sauce whose pungent smell can grasp any visitor’s attention before they reach the village’s gate.

Sauce is a staple of almost every dish in Vietnam. A Vietnamese meal without particular sauce is considered incomplete.

Ca cuong, or giant waterbug, looks like a cockroach. However, unlike cockroaches, ca cuong, with a rare and precious essence, is very expensive and sells for VND3.5 million per kilogram.

Sixty-year-old Nguyen Thi Tam has been making fish sauce for nearly half a century and has developed her own brand - Tam Tuoi - within the line of fish sauce made by the Cua Khe cooperative.

A young man in Thanh Hoa Province decided to return home after studying and working abroad to develop a traditional product, fish sauce.

The Vietnam Association of Fish Sauce, established on October 27, will label products that meet certain standards with its own logo, to help consumers recognise traditional local fish sauce and provide access to safe and high-quality fish sauce.

Fish sauce production in Vietnam is still modest with small and tiny enterprises. Producers have been told to update technology and diversify products to conquer the world market.

The names of four companies that used a banned chemical compound that would only normally be used in soap and detergent to produce fish sauce were revealed on Monday.

Two traditional trades – fish sauce in Nam O Village in Da Nang and Thanh Ha pottery in Hoi An – have been recognised as National Intangible Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

VietNamNet Bridge - The draft on national standards on good practices in fish sauce production now being compiled by the agriculture ministry has been facing strong opposition from traditional fish sauce workshops and experts.

Just like rice, fish sauce is a staple of almost every dish in Viet Nam. “For Vietnamese people, a meal without fish sauce is considered incomplete,” culture expert Tran Ngoc Them once wrote. 

The report from the Vietnam Standards and Consumers Association (Vinastas) on arsenic levels in fish sauce violated regulations in Term 12, Article 5 of the Food Safety Law, according to a new report from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

VietNamNet Bridge - The VND11.3 trillion fish sauce market is facing confrontation between two camps – makers of industrial fish sauce and traditionally made fish sauce.

The brands of mam ca (fish sauce or salted fish) – a specialty of An Giang – are usually named after teachers. Explore the world of mam ca through the following photos of markets in Tinh Bien district and Chau Doc city, An Giang.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Viet Nam Standards and Consumers Association (Vinatas), a non-profit organisation, yesterday (Oct 17) announced the results of a test it did of fish sauce in 10 cities and provinces.

VietNamNet Bridge - Many foreign-invested enterprises have successfully developed products made of pure Vietnamese materials.

 Hoi cake is one of the most popular cakes in the daily lives of Binh Dinh’s residents. The people in Binh Dinh eat it every day, and will have it for breakfast, lunch or dinner.