Portrait of the captain who brought the ship “Phu Quoc Fish Sauce” to the world

Portrait of the captain who brought the ship “Phu Quoc Fish Sauce” to the world

From childhood until adulthood, Nguyen Thi Tinh was always raised by her parents towards her ancestral homeland. The homeland in longing and nostalgia is a poetic sea village, rich in academic traditions, a model fighting village in the anti-French era – Canh Duong beach village, Quang Trach district has been ingrained in her subconscious and nurtured her dreams. beautiful for her to be as successful as she is today.

From a young age, she followed her parents to the family’s fish sauce factory. At that time, she was taught how to choose fish, make fish, marinate fish…and most of all, she understood the hardships of people who make every drop of fish sauce. At the age of 18, her parents trusted her to give her the entire production facility as well as the family’s know-how and experience in making fish sauce. Continuing the family tradition, after nearly 30 years, she also has a pretty solid base with the Thanh Quoc fish sauce production facility established in 1993.

She said: “My succession was like a pre-arranged predestination. There are 6 brothers and sisters in my family, but my parents only passed on the profession to me and only I followed the profession left by my grandparents.” Therefore, she is determined to persevere with the profession, not to let the heirloom profession be lost. However, having had the opportunity to go to many places, she realized that when talking about Phu Quoc, it is impossible not to mention fish sauce, but to understand and preserve the Phu Quoc fish sauce brand as a national property is not easy. Although the profession of making fish sauce in Phu Quoc has a history of over 200 years, there has not been an organization to protect the interests of producers. Thinking is doing, she mobilized a number of reputable businesses in the profession to join the establishment of the Phu Quoc Fish Sauce Association.

The first success came to her, in October 2000 according to the Decision No. 220/QD-UB dated October 22, 2000 of the People’s Committee of Phu Quoc District, Phu Quoc Fish Sauce Association was established with nearly 68 members who are businesses. Nguyen Thi Tinh was elected as the President of the Association. Phu Quoc Fish Sauce Association is a professional association of traditional fish sauce producers within Phu Quoc district.

The Association was established on the principle of voluntariness – cooperation – equality and mutual benefit, cooperation and association with each other to strengthen solidarity and cooperation in production and business activities, exchange of experiences and help. mutual development, protection and preservation of prestige, reputation and traditional values ​​of Phu Quoc fish sauce. Ms. Tinh said that the whole island has 104 barrel houses to make fish sauce, the average output is about 25-30 million liters per year, of which 20 million liters are 30 degrees of protein. Every year exports to foreign countries about 3 million liters.

Since its establishment, the Association has contributed much effort to develop production, contributing to increase production from 5-7 million liters/year (in 2000) to over 25 million liters/year today. . Especially, in 2000, Unilever Company (one of the largest consumer and food groups in the world with presence in over 100 countries) chose to invest in fish sauce products here.

The first person they thought of was Ms. Nguyen Thi Tinh. Invite her as a partner, Unilever wants to create a traditional product line but apply modern technology with the name Knorr Phu Quoc. However, coming to a cooperation agreement must have been discussed and thought carefully because many members strongly objected and believed that cooperation with foreign companies would lose the Phu Quoc brand. But with her determination, she finally found a way out by deciding to cooperate with Unilever through the establishment of a joint venture company named Quoc Duong Co., Ltd., which she is the CEO of. The company is responsible for purchasing fish sauce from the barrel houses in Phu Quoc, then processing the product according to industry standards and then bottling.

In 2002, Knorr Phu Quoc fish sauce product was born, opening the market for high-class fish sauce with typical Phu Quoc flavor. The product immediately won the hearts of consumers and her joy was multiplied. The construction of a factory producing and bottling fish sauce right on Phu Quoc island, further encourages fish sauce production facilities on the island to develop.

Talking about her greatest success is the fact that Phu Quoc fish sauce – the first product of Vietnam to have its appellation of origin protected in the European Union. On October 11, 2012, the European Union (EU) published in the EU Official Gazette the regulations on the registration of the appellation of origin “Phu Quoc” for Phu Quoc fish sauce products. The above regulation takes effect 20 days after the date of publication, that is, from October 31, 2012 and so Phu Quoc fish sauce products will be protected by appellation of origin throughout the territory of the Union countries. Europe.

The successful registration of the name of origin “Phu Quoc” in the EU for Phu Quoc fish sauce products is the result of technical support from the Multilateral Trade Policy Support Project (MUTRAP) for the Phu Quoc Fish Sauce Producers Association. with the cooperation and assistance of the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam and the People’s Committee of Kien Giang Province.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Tinh, the successful listing of names of origin for Phu Quoc fish sauce will bring legitimate benefits to Phu Quoc fish sauce manufacturers because it will control imitations and counterfeits of Phu Quoc fish sauce. country when importing into the European Union. These results have contributed to the reputation of Phu Quoc fish sauce reaching out to countries around the world, especially Europe and America.

Having the same joys and sorrows as any other woman, Nguyen Thi Tinh also has to face pressure from many sides to balance her career, family happiness and time for herself. But with the enthusiasm, bravery as well as determination of a dynamic and energetic woman, she overcame everything to realize her dream.

Now, she can be proud of her achievements, as the Director of Thanh Quoc Enterprise and Quoc Duong Co., Ltd., as well as the Chairman of Phu Quoc Fish Sauce Association, she also has a family. happy. With her own efforts, the great reward for her is the certificate of merit awarded by the Vietnam Women’s Union and the title of “Typical Businesswoman” of Kien Giang province.

Talking about the great merits of Ms. Nguyen Thi Tinh, in the yearbook “Phu Quoc fish sauce from tradition to integration” there are respectful lines: “…Speaking of the development of Phu Quoc Fish Sauce Association, It is impossible to forget the role of the female leader who has led the Association to cope with many ups and downs, difficulties and hardships since its establishment until today, that is, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tinh, the President of the Association. Phu Quoc fish sauce. The person who was trusted by all members and recommended to hold the position of President of the Association for 4 consecutive terms (2000-2013), this is probably also a hard-to-break record in the leadership role of associations in Vietnam. …”. Her success has also honored the land and people of Quang Binh, brightening up the tradition of her homeland “Hai good”.

On rare visits to her hometown, when she was able to light incense sticks on the graves of her paternal and maternal relatives, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tinh was moved to share: “In my memory, Canh Duong is a small and poor coastal village, surrounded by years, fishermen only have a few boats fishing near the shore to make a living. But in recent visits to my hometown, witnessing the rapid transformation and prosperity of the homeland, I feel proud to be a son of Canh Duong. I look forward to contributing to the construction and development of the homeland to become richer and more beautiful, worthy of the village’s glorious heroic tradition…”.