Hanoi Times - For the first time Radio Frequency Identification technology (RFID) is being applied to verify the origin of an exported Vietnamese food product, frozen shrimp, a major seafood export item of Vietnam.

This is a cooperation project between the Vietnamese and Thai Ministries of Science and Technology, signed in June 2007. Under this project, the Vietnam Technology Application and Development Agency combines with the National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre of Thailand (NECTEC) to implement the Trade Core technology for frozen shrimp for export. But why is this technology being applied for this product?

Vietnam is the seventh-largest seafood exporter in the world. Frozen shrimp is its key seafood product, accounting for 40% of the total export seafood value or around $3 billion a year. In the January-August period, Vietnam earned $3.7 billion from frozen shrimp and the country can obtain more than $4 billion for the whole year.

Exports of frozen shrimp have faced many technical barriers. Big markets like the US, Japan, South Korea and the European Union have set many strict criteria, including origin inquisition. Meanwhile, Thailand has successfully applied origin inquisition technology for export shrimp, called Trade Core. 

The key of this technology is using FRID. Accordingly, super-small chipsets are stuck to products to follow their itinerary. 

SATI and NECTEC will cooperate to apply this technology for exported frozen shrimp of Vietnam. SATI will develop criteria, regulations and input-output parameters suitable for Vietnam and shrimp-importing countries. It will choose some big seafood producers that meet conditions for implementation.

According to NECTEC, initial investment for an RFID is $3 and it is around $10,000 in total for 20 tonnes of shrimp. o­n average, spending o­n this task is less than $1/1kg of export shrimp. Chipsets and cards can be used several times.