Eggplant products on display at the seminar held in HCM City on April 19. They are naturally fermented by using an improved traditional process for up to 21 days. — VNS Photo

HCM CITY — Sông Hương Foods is set to export its first consignment to the US comprising preserved eggplant, fine shrimp paste, instant anchovy fish sauce, shrimp paste, preserved mud fish, vinaigrous vegetables, preserved vegetables, and others next month.

Nguyễn Lê Quốc Tuấn, its CEO, speaking at a seminar held by the Business Association of Vietnamese High Quality Products and the company in HCM City on Tuesday, said further: "Our company is in the process of making products to fulfil this first order."

It has exported modest volumes to Japan, he said, explaining, “I was determined to export to Japan because it is an extremely difficult market. Successfully penetrating the Japanese market has underlined Sông Hương Foods’ prestige and quality.

“We also target Taiwan, China and Cambodia.”

He said the company has researched, processed and produced six products: salted eggplant, anchovy fish sauce with eggplant, veggan fish sauce with eggplant, pickled shrimp with eggplant, pickled shrimp and eggplant, and spicy pickled eggplant.

They are naturally fermented by using an improved traditional process for up to 21 days.

The products are also available in supermarkets nation-wide, and sales have jumped since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, thanks to their convenience, safety and ease of eating, rising to VNĐ30 billion (US$1.3 million) last year, he said.

The company plans to build a factory in An Giang for making products from eggplant.

Dr Trịnh Khánh Sơn, vice dean of the faculty of chemical and food technology at the HCM City University of Technology and Education, said eggplants and many other agricultural products, when fermented, provide health benefits.

The vegetable has good nutrients, and the fermentation process helps eliminate unhealthy substances in it, he said. — VNS