Seafood Task Force Scales Up Improvement of Vietnam Shrimp Supply Chain – Aug ‘26
Can Tho, Vietnam, 28 August 2026
The Seafood Task Force (STF), a leading trade association that represents members of global shrimp and tuna supply chains, held its first in-person Vietnam member meeting in Can Tho on August 14, 2026, bringing together STF members supplying shrimp from Vietnam for a session conducted entirely in the Vietnamese language.
The meeting brought together 24 representatives drawn from the leadership and management teams of STF's Vietnam members, spanning Deputy CEOs, department heads and supervisors responsible for social accountability and traceability, alongside a member of the STF Executive Team.
Members buying and supplying shrimp from Vietnam had already completed the process of prioritizing the social accountability and traceability issues identified through the aggregate report of STF assessments. Seven Vietnam members met in person for the first time to discuss the root causes and challenges behind these priority issues and to draft improvement plans in response.
The meeting gave members the opportunity to bring the individuals directly responsible for these issues into the room, whose on-the-ground insight proved highly valuable to the discussion and to shaping improvement plans that are practical to implement.
The draft improvement plans will be brought to the STF Summit in September 2026 for further discussion with members buying from Vietnam, with the aim of finalizing comprehensive action plans. Once agreed, the action plans will move into implementation, benefiting farm workers and helping both buying and supplying members build confidence to trade.
The seven Vietnam members - Fimex, Khang An Foods, Minh Phu, Sea Minh Hai, Stapimex, TaiKA, and Vina Cleanfood have all been members of the STF for between one and two years. Together with buyer members, they began working at the STF's October 2025 Summit, looking to implement a time-bound improvement plan with milestones to address the issue of no labor contracts and legal benefits being provided to workers at medium and small-scale farms.
discussed improvement plan
The plan includes, but is not limited to, identifying the medium and small-scale farms affected by this issue as well as preparing training materials, templates, and guidelines for farm owners and workers as they make continuous improvements. To date, Vietnam members have delivered awareness training on labor contracts along with learning how to implement the signing of labor contracts with workers, to 149 farms.
Founded in 2014, the STF brings together the world's largest retailers, seafood brands and their seafood partners, serving more than 350 million customers globally, helping them to drive supply chain oversight and continuous improvement from vessel to plate.
Members are working to produce fully traceable, ethically produced and environmentally responsible seafood, meeting international social and environmental standards and growing due diligence requirements.
STF CEO, Martin Thurley, said:
"It is always incredibly beneficial to bring our Vietnam members together in person. These sessions provide essential on-the-ground dialogue building trust and the catalyst for sustainable change by listening to the people closest to the challenges and turning these insights into practical, time-bound action plans. We look forward to building on the progress made in Can Tho as we finalize these action plans at our September Summit."
For media inquiries, please contact: stf@thephagroup.com
About the Seafood Task Force:
The Seafood Task Force (STF) was established in 2014 to restore global confidence to trade, following concerns about social and environmental abuse in global tuna and shrimp supply chains. It is made up of over 60 major retailers, brands, food service companies and their supply chain partners.
The STF drives supply chain oversight at scale, pioneering a pro-competitive approach that makes it easier for its members to meet international standards and growing due diligence requirements.
The STF is a US-based, not-for-profit trade association established for the seafood industry by the seafood industry. Its vision is a future where its members' seafood supply chains are fully traceable, free from the risk of human rights violations and free from environmental degradation.
For more information: https://seafoodtaskforce.global/