Efforts to rebuild after the flood.
We visited the Phu Hai Industrial Cluster in the days following the floods in early December 2025. This area has long been famous for its traditional fish sauce, known as the "capital" of Phan Thiet fish sauce. After the floodwaters receded, leaving behind a mess, businesses were busy cleaning up mud and rebuilding operations to serve the Tet (Lunar New Year) market. Although the weather was sunny and dry, traces of the flood, especially mud, remained everywhere. Overcoming difficulties and damage, some workshops, owners, and workers took advantage of the time to clean up the mud. Wet and damaged packaging was brought out to dry in the sun and sorted for reuse. Pumps, fish sauce pipelines, salt storage areas, and bottling areas were all soaked and had to be disassembled for cleaning… In areas where repairs were completed, machinery started operating again to rush to fulfill end-of-year orders.
Mr. Tran Ngoc Anh, the owner of a fishmeal processing business in the Phu Hai Industrial Cluster, shared that the flood that inundated the industrial cluster (with a total area of over 14 hectares) in early December 2025 caused severe damage to more than 60 production and business establishments, mainly processing seafood and fish sauce. "Throughout my many years of doing business here, I never imagined a situation where floodwater would inundate my production facilities, leaving everyone unprepared," Mr. Anh said.
Along with many neighboring manufacturing and trading businesses, Mr. Anh's facility suffered total losses of nearly 2 billion VND in finished products, including raw materials for shrimp feed processing. In addition, Mr. Anh's facility was flooded with nearly 1 meter of water on the night of December 3rd, submerging an excavator and requiring repairs to its motor. Currently, due to the end-of-year period, the facility is urgently re-drying 100 tons of wet fishmeal, although this reduces quality, it is the best solution at this time.
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phung, owner of Thuan Hung fish sauce production facility in Phu Hai Industrial Cluster, said the unexpected flood caused him losses of at least 1 billion VND. This included the destruction of all his salt and barrels of fish sauce ready for production. Most sadly, his facility's traditional fish sauce, which requires two years of continuous fermentation to reach 50-60 degrees of protein content, was severely damaged. Each liter of fish sauce is the culmination of many kilograms of fish and a meticulous process. After the flood receded, Mr. Phung's facility and surrounding businesses are busy cleaning up their premises and production areas to restart operations. However, the cleaning process must be very thorough, and it is expected to take a considerable amount of time before production can return to normal.
We need help to overcome the difficulties.
Mr. Truong Quang Hien, Chairman of the Phan Thiet Fish Sauce Association, stated that the severe damage to the assets of member businesses was caused by the high tide on the night of December 3rd, which flooded many areas in the southeastern part of the province. This included the Phu Hai Industrial Cluster, leaving residents with no time to react. Dozens of tons of salt used for preserving fish, thousands of liters of fish sauce, and many machines and assets were damaged, resulting in billions of dong in losses. The association is currently continuing to assess the damage suffered by its members. Therefore, to protect the rights of its members and prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future, the Phan Thiet Fish Sauce Association held a meeting to gather opinions on proposing to the Provincial People's Committee and relevant departments and agencies to provide support to help businesses in the industrial cluster overcome the consequences of the flooding.
At this emergency meeting, many production and business establishments that are members of the Phan Thiet Fish Sauce Association, including Mr. Do Duy Linh - Huong Tam Fish Sauce Company Limited, proposed that the association establish an inventory team to assess the damage. This would determine the extent of the damage and allow for official letters to be sent to the Phu Thuy Ward People's Committee, banks, and tax authorities to seek solutions and support for businesses facing difficulties due to the natural disaster.
In addition, some businesses in the industrial cluster also stated that, in reality, the drainage system in the Phu Hai Industrial Cluster is currently clogged, causing flooding whenever it rains. Therefore, each production and business facility must pay attention to drainage issues, learn from experience, and proactively respond to floods, minimizing the occurrence of similar incidents.
Source: https://baolamdong.vn/thu-phu-nuoc-mam-hoi-ha-khoi-phuc-sau-lu-409917.html
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