Appendix Q
Q. Open questions register
All 155 open questions left by the research, grouped by topic, with why each matters, the cheapest way to close it, who to ask, and its status. The twenty priorities are ranked in chapter 14.
On this page
- Protein economy and feed (15)
- Feedstocks (9)
- Process note (2)
- Industrial capacity (7)
- Companies and ecosystem (13)
- Regulation (14)
- Research capacity (11)
- Capital (11)
- Regional position (8)
- Costs (11)
- Formulation and retail (7)
- Science (7)
- Feed market (3)
- Geography, institutions and outlook (6)
- Infrastructure and talent (3)
- Futures 2030 to 2050 (28)
This register lists every question the research could not close. It is generated from open_questions.csv, which also holds the source notes each question came from. The twenty questions that matter most, with the play each unblocks, are ranked in Unknowns; their rank appears in the "Priority" column below. Edition 1.1 adds the questions left by the futures round (OQ-128 onwards, topic "futures 2030 to 2050"); the most important are summarised in Robust moves.
Status: 133 open; 22 partly closed.
Readers who can answer any of these are invited to contact AltProtein Vietnam; closed questions will be dated in the data file.
Protein economy and feed (15)
| ID | Priority | Question | Cheapest way to close it | Who to ask | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OQ-001 | Fishmeal: domestic production, imports and domestic prices, 2023 to 2026. | Get Vietnam Customs HS 2301.20 data through ITC Trade Map, or ask the Vietnam Animal Feed Association (VAFA, Hiep hoi Thuc an chan nuoi Viet Nam) or VASEP (for pangasius by-product meal). | ask the Vietnam Feed Association or AgroMonitor for their weekly feed-ingredient bulletin, or phone two fishmeal plants in An Giang (former Kien Giang) or Ca Mau. | Kien Giang and Ca Mau fishmeal plants; AgroMonitor weekly feed report; Vietnam Customs HS 2301.20 by month (the customs statistics portal). | Ask the Department of Livestock Production and Veterinary (MAE) for the feed facility registry, and VASEP for by-product fishmeal plants. | Vietnam Customs; ITC Trade Map; Vietnam Animal Feed Association; VAFA; VASEP; Vietnam Feed Association; AgroMonitor; MAE | partly closed | |
| OQ-002 | 5 | Vietnam-specific fishmeal inclusion rates by species. | One call each to the technical managers at Uni-President Vietnam, Sheng Long and Grobest, or ask the Research Institute for Aquaculture No. 2 (RIA2). | Call the technical managers of Sheng Long, Uni-President Vietnam or Grobest (shrimp) and Vinh Hoan feed division (pangasius). Or ask the Vietnam Feed Association. | Uni-President; Sheng Long; Grobest; Research Institute for Aquaculture No. 2; RIA2; Vinh Hoan; Vietnam Feed Association | open |
| OQ-003 | 11 | Official aquafeed output by species. | MAE's Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance publishes an annual review; request the feed chapter. | MAE's Department of Fisheries | open |
| OQ-004 | Per-person consumption of fish, milk and meat by type, on a consumption basis. | Use the Vietnam Household Living Standards Survey (NSO) and FAOSTAT food balance sheets. The FAOSTAT site could not be read by automated tools. | NSO; FAOSTAT | open | |
| OQ-005 | OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2025-2034 projections for Vietnam (meat, fish, feed to 2034). | The OECD site blocked automated access. Download the data from the OECD Data Explorer manually. | OECD Data Explorer (AGR_OUTLOOK dataset, country VNM) or the USDA ERS International Baseline country tables. | OECD; USDA ERS | open | |
| OQ-006 | Latest GHG inventory (first Biennial Transparency Report) and NDC 3.0 (2025). | Check the UNFCCC submissions page. | UNFCCC NDC registry (unfccc.int/NDCREG) or the MAE Department of Climate Change. | UNFCCC; MAE Department of Climate Change | open | |
| OQ-007 | Decision 300/QD-TTg (2023), the methane action plan, and any 2025/2026 directives on feed raw materials. | Read the full texts on thuvienphapluat.vn. | open | ||
| OQ-008 | Current FDI market share and volume-based rankings of feed mills. | VAFA, or Vietnam Report's full ranking report. | VAFA; Vietnam Report | open | |
| OQ-009 | Meat and offal imports in 2025 (volume and value); seafood export volume in 2025. | Customs annual bulletin; VASEP annual report. | VASEP | open | |
| OQ-010 | Import values for soybean meal and DDGS separately. | Customs HS 2304 and 2303 detail (ITC Trade Map). | ITC Trade Map | open | |
| OQ-011 | Share of feed in shrimp production cost. | Shrimp farm cost surveys (Can Tho University; VASEP). | Can Tho University; VASEP | partly closed | |
| OQ-012 | Livestock waste volume and treatment rates. | MAE environment reports; the national state-of-environment report. | MAE | open | |
| OQ-013 | An official feed price index for 2021 to 2023 (the 2022 spike). | NSO producer and consumer price sub-indices for animal feed. | NSO | open | |
| OQ-014 | FDI in food processing. | The foreign investment agency now under MOF (formerly MPI) publishes FDI by sector. Check whether food and beverage is broken out. | MOF | open | |
| OQ-127 | 12 | Does the Decision 1520/QD-TTg target of 30 to 32 Mt of industrial feed by 2030 cover livestock and poultry feed only, or also aquafeed? | Ask the MAE Department of Livestock Production and Animal Health which feed statistics are used to monitor the target. | MAE DLPAH | partly closed |
Feedstocks (9)
| ID | Priority | Question | Cheapest way to close it | Who to ask | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OQ-015 | 9 | Cassava pulp gate price, and the split between wet sale, drying, biogas and dumping. | Call 3 to 5 Tay Ninh factories (for example Dinh Khue; Hung Duy Group) and the Son La Starch Factory. The Vietnam Cassava Association (hiephoisanvietnam.org.vn) publishes weekly market bulletins; its site failed on a TLS certificate error in this session, so read it in a browser. | Vietnam Cassava Association | open |
| OQ-016 | National starch output, including domestic use, not just exports. | Sources: MOIT industrial statistics, NSO "sản phẩm công nghiệp chủ yếu" tables, or the Vietnam Cassava Association. | MOIT; NSO; Vietnam Cassava Association | open | |
| OQ-017 | Beer volume for 2024/2025 and brewery-gate BSG prices. | Sources: NSO industrial output ("bia các loại"), the Vietnam Beer-Alcohol-Beverage Association (VBA), and the Heineken Vietnam and Sabeco sustainability or annual reports. Ask Entobel directly about its feedstock. | NSO; VBA; Heineken Vietnam; Sabeco; Entobel | open | |
| OQ-018 | Molasses volume, flows and bulk price. | Sources: VSSA, and the TTC AgriS (SBT) and QNS annual reports (by-product revenue lines), plus MSG and yeast buyers (Vedan, Ajinomoto). | VSSA; TTC AgriS; QNS; Vedan; Ajinomoto | open | |
| OQ-019 | Broken rice volume and uses. | Vietnam Food Association (VFA). | Vietnam Food Association; VFA | open | |
| OQ-020 | Seafood by-product volume and use. | VASEP; annual reports of Vinh Hoan and other pangasius exporters (collagen, gelatin and fishmeal lines). | VASEP; Vinh Hoan | open | |
| OQ-021 | Seaweed, spirulina, mushrooms. | MAE Fisheries and Crop Production departments; thuvienphapluat.vn for the seaweed development scheme to 2030; Vinh Hao Mineral Water Company for spirulina. | MAE; Vinh Hao | open | |
| OQ-022 | Coffee and cashew. | The USDA Coffee Annual (fas.usda.gov returned 403 in this session; try the apps.fas.usda.gov GAIN API filename), VICOFA, VINACAS. | USDA; VICOFA; VINACAS | open | |
| OQ-023 | Soybean crushers and okara. | Vietnam Feed Association for crusher names and capacities; Vinasoy for okara volumes. | Ask the Vietnam Feed Association, or read the USDA GAIN Oilseeds Annual for 2026. | Vietnam Feed Association; Vinasoy; USDA | partly closed |
Process note (2)
| ID | Priority | Question | Cheapest way to close it | Who to ask | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OQ-024 | Process note: the session's web-search budget ran out part-way through this wave. Items 5 to 11 were not searched on the open web at all. They should be the first searches in wave 2. | open | |||
| OQ-080 | Pages that could not be read this wave: - Manila Times, ScaleUp Bio release (HTTP 429 rate limit; the PR Newswire copy was read instead) - Straits Times, China "new proteins" (site blocked) - Lexology, Thailand article (HTTP 403) - BBGI notice PDF (no content returned) - Cell AgriTech and Malaysia FSQD sites (DNS failure) - UN Comtrade API (binary response) - WITS Vietnam cashew exports (server error) - Web search budget exhausted early in the session. | open |
Industrial capacity (7)
| ID | Priority | Question | Cheapest way to close it | Who to ask | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OQ-025 | Vedan's current MSG, lysine and fermentation capacity (tank count). | Read Vedan International's 2024 or 2025 annual report on hkexnews.hk (stock code 2317), and Vedan's EIA or environmental permit on thamvan.mae.gov.vn (the site failed to load for us). | HKEX filings do not disclose them. Read Vedan's environmental permit on the MAE portal, or ask Vedan's Starch Derivatives R&D team directly. | Vedan; MAE | partly closed | |
| OQ-026 | 4 | Whether any incumbent will toll-ferment. | Direct inquiry to Vedan's Starch Derivatives R&D department and to Ajinomoto Vietnam's corporate planning team. Ask about the 700 m3 tanks and their idle time. | Vedan; Ajinomoto | open |
| OQ-027 | Pilot fermentation access. | Call the SHTP Biotech Center, the HCMC Biotechnology Center and FIRI's experimental production centre. Ask for vessel sizes, food-grade status and startup pricing. | phone or email FIRI FTET and the HCMC Biotechnology Center with a one-page equipment questionnaire; ask MOST for its list of national key laboratories. | Send a one-page questionnaire to FIRI FTET (production@firi.vn), the HCMC Biotechnology Center (ttcnsh.shtp@tphcm.gov.vn) and SHTP Labs (ttrd.shtp@tphcm.gov.vn). | SHTP; HCMC Biotechnology Center; FIRI; MOST | partly closed | |
| OQ-028 | Citric acid, enzymes, threonine, methionine. | Check customs import data for 2024-2025 and the Vietnam Chemicals Agency plant list. | customs; Vietnam Chemicals Agency | open | |
| OQ-029 | Hi-tech agriculture zones, Hoa Lac, Da Nang Hi-Tech Park, and university pilot plants. | Read the park websites and the Prime Minister's decisions (e.g., on hi-tech agriculture zone planning) on thuvienphapluat.vn. Pass to the R&D and ecosystem agents. | Try other official domains, or the Da Nang People's Committee portal. | Da Nang People's Committee | partly closed | |
| OQ-030 | Current status of the AB Mauri La Nga plant after the 2019 suspension. | Ask the Dong Nai Department of Agriculture and Environment, or AB Mauri directly. | Dong Nai Department of Agriculture and Environment; AB Mauri | open | |
| OQ-031 | Local stainless fermenter and food-machinery fabricators. | Talk to the Vietnam Mechanical Enterprises Association and to engineering firms that built the Vedan and Ajinomoto expansions. | Check the national business registry (dangkykinhdoanh.gov.vn) for Buhler, GEA, Alfa Laval and Famsun entities, or ask vendors' Singapore offices. | Vietnam Mechanical Enterprises Association; Vedan; Ajinomoto; dangkykinhdoanh.gov.vn; Buhler; Famsun | open |
Companies and ecosystem (13)
| ID | Priority | Question | Cheapest way to close it | Who to ask | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OQ-032 | Chay tonnage and protein inputs by manufacturer. | Call VISSAN, CJ Foods Vietnam, SG Food, Au Lac and Thoai An. Also check the General Statistics Office (now NSO) enterprise census for the relevant product codes. | Look up each brand's manufacturer on its product labels (the field photos exist), then check the Ministry of Health / VFA self-declaration database and company registration. | Not established; would need retailer data (Saigon Co.op, WinCommerce) or a market-research purchase. | VISSAN; CJ Foods Vietnam; SG Food; Au Lac; Thoai An; NSO; VFA; Saigon Co.op; WinCommerce | open | |
| OQ-033 | 8 | TVP, soy protein isolate and wheat gluten import volumes (HS 2106.10, 3504, 1109). | Check Vietnam Customs statistics or trade-data services (ImportGenius, Panjiva). | Vietnam Customs (GDVC) statistics, or one call to a major importer or distributor. | Vietnam Customs | partly closed |
| OQ-034 | 6 | Chinese SCP import volumes and manufacturers. | Check customs HS 2309 and 2102 lines; call CK Vietnam / V-Group. | Ask V-Group / CK Vietnam for a quote; check customs lines HS 2309.90 and 2102.20. | customs; CK Vietnam; V-Group | open |
| OQ-035 | Cricket One status in 2025 and 2026. | Check LinkedIn or call the company, and check the Dong Nai business registry. | Not reached this wave. A phone check or site visit is cheapest. | LinkedIn; Dong Nai business registry | open | |
| OQ-036 | Brief leads not found: Song Huong Foods, LC Foods, Hue One Food, Tan Nhat Huong chay, Deep Blue Island, Hat Viet, Zhenmeat, "Unconventional". | A new search round with a fresh search budget should close these. | open | ||
| OQ-037 | The 2 Vietnamese companies in GFI's database. | Email GFI APAC or download the public spreadsheet. | Email GFI APAC or download the database spreadsheet. | GFI APAC | partly closed | |
| OQ-038 | NGO and event ecosystem (HSI Forward Food trainings, ProVeg, vegetarian associations, plant-based expos, university startup contests): not covered. | Needs a new search round. | open | ||
| OQ-039 | Duckweed, seaweed and koji actors: not covered beyond absence. | Check Can Tho University, Nha Trang University (seaweed) and FiBL. | Can Tho University and Nong Lam University animal-science groups. | Can Tho University; FiBL; Nong Lam University | open | |
| OQ-040 | Status of the Minh Phu-UMAMI (ex-Shiok) MOU. | Check Minh Phu investor relations or annual reports for 2023 to 2025. | Minh Phu | partly closed | |
| OQ-117 | Which Vietnamese mills came with CJ Feed & Care, and whether the 21 De Heus plants include them. | Ask De Heus Vietnam communications. | De Heus | open | |
| OQ-118 | Plant lists for VISSAN, CJ Foods Vietnam and Ajinomoto. | Read their 2025 annual or sustainability reports (VISSAN publishes to UPCoM). | VISSAN | open | |
| OQ-119 | Vinasoy 2025 capacity and soybean origin. | Read the QNS 2025 annual report (UPCoM filing). | QNS | open | |
| OQ-120 | Skretting's H-Meal inclusion rate and volumes. | Ask Skretting Vietnam or Entobel. | Skretting; Entobel | open |
Regulation (14)
| ID | Priority | Question | Cheapest way to close it | Who to ask | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OQ-041 | 1 | Full text of the draft Food Safety Law (Aug 2026 version). Does any article define new food, new technology food or new ingredients? | download from the National Assembly draft portal (duthaoonline.quochoi.vn) or the WTO SPS notification G/SPS/N/VNM/187 attachment; or ask the VFA Legal Division. | the WTO SPS notification attachment downloaded by hand from docs.wto.org, or a request to the VFA Legal Division or the National Assembly Committee on Science, Technology and Environment. | WTO; VFA Legal Division; National Assembly Committee on Science, Technology and Environment | partly closed |
| OQ-042 | 2 | Do purified PF proteins need a GMO food-use certificate, beyond labelling? What is the timeline for the Art 37a closed-production certificate? | written question to the MAE Department of Nature Conservation and Biodiversity and to VFA. Read the Decree 43/2026 appendix forms (e.g. form 25 on thuvienphapluat). | a joint written question to MAE and VFA. | MAE Department of Nature Conservation and Biodiversity; VFA | open |
| OQ-043 | 3 | Aquafeed permitted list, raw-material section (Circular 16/2026/TT-BNNMT Appendix II). Are insect meal, yeast, SCP, algae or duckweed listed? | download the Circular PDF from vanban.chinhphu.vn, or call DFFI. | a written question to DFFI (Cục Thủy sản và Kiểm ngư, aquafeed division). | DFFI | partly closed |
| OQ-044 | Is Circular 21/2019 Appendix VI still the livestock list after Circular 94/2025 and Law 146/2025? When was the last annual update? | DLPAH (Cục Chăn nuôi và Thú y) feed division; check the MAE feed information portal. | DLPAH feed division. | DLPAH; MAE | partly closed | |
| OQ-045 | Registrations of Entobel, yeast-protein and any SCP products on the DLPAH and DFFI portals. | query the MAE feed portal by company name; ask Entobel. | MAE; Entobel | open | |
| OQ-046 | Which body approves a controlled-testing sandbox (Law 93/2025 Art 21) for a food product? Is there an implementing decree? | MOST Legal Department; check decrees guiding Law 93/2025 issued in late 2025 and 2026. | reading Resolution 29/2025/NQ-HĐND in full; a call to the Hanoi Department of Science and Technology. | MOST Legal Department; Hanoi Department of Science and Technology | partly closed | |
| OQ-047 | EIA thresholds for fermentation, food and feed plants (Decree 08/2022 Appendix II to V as amended by 05/2025 and 48/2026). | download the appendices PDF; ask an environmental consultant. | the Decree 08/2022 and 05/2025 appendix PDFs from vanban.chinhphu.vn, or an environmental consultant. | environmental consultant | open | |
| OQ-048 | Decree 320/2025/ND-CP (CIT guidance): exact criteria for "projects applying high technology" and agricultural processing incentives. | read the decree; one call to a tax adviser. | the official PDF, or one call to a tax adviser. | tax adviser | partly closed | |
| OQ-049 | Allergen labelling specifics and any draft rules on plant-based naming. | read Circular 05/2019/TT-BKHCN and the draft law's labelling chapter. | partly closed | ||
| OQ-050 | ASEAN novel-food work (ACCSQ PFPWG), Codex NFPS status, and current Thai and Korean rules. | GFI APAC regulatory team; ASEAN Secretariat food safety unit; Thai FDA. | GFI APAC regulatory team; the Thai FDA Food Division. | Check the MFDS temporary standards list or ask GFI Korea. | Read the USDA GAIN Thailand FAIRS report or ask Thai FDA. | GFI APAC; ASEAN Secretariat; Thai FDA; MFDS; GFI Korea; USDA | partly closed | |
| OQ-051 | Delivery status of Resolution 189/NQ-CP tasks II.2 and II.3 (biotech "outstanding mechanisms", biotech product standards). | MOST Department of S&T for Economic-Technical Sectors; MAE Department of S&T. | MOST Department of S&T for Economic-Technical Sectors; MAE Department of S&T | open | |
| OQ-052 | 20 | Halal acceptance of fermentation-derived ingredients made in Vietnam, and recognition by JAKIM and BPJPH. | HALCERT (under MOST) and a Malaysian certifier. | HALCERT; MOST | open |
| OQ-106 | Closed-production certificate: time limit, fee, validity, issuing level. | the full Decision 375/QĐ-BNNMT (PDF on vanban.chinhphu.vn or the national public service portal dichvucong.gov.vn), or a call to the MAE Department of Nature Conservation and Biodiversity. | written question to the MAE Department of Nature Conservation and Biodiversity and to VFA. Read the Decree 43/2026 appendix forms (e.g. form 25 on thuvienphapluat). | MAE Department of Nature Conservation and Biodiversity; VFA | partly closed | |
| OQ-107 | 2026 MFN, ATIGA and ACFTA rates line by line; HS classification of SCP and precision-fermented proteins. | the customs tariff lookup on customs.gov.vn; an advance classification ruling from the General Department of Customs. | General Department of Customs | open |
Research capacity (11)
| ID | Priority | Question | Cheapest way to close it | Who to ask | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OQ-053 | Annual graduates in food technology, biotechnology and aquaculture. | sum programme quotas from the 2025-2026 Đề án tuyển sinh of about 12 universities, or ask MOET. | MOET's admissions portal data, or each university's đề án PDF. The HUST, HCMUT, Nong Lam, NTU and IUH pages showed no numbers or failed. | MOET | partly closed | |
| OQ-054 | NAFOSTED and VINIF grant sizes and 2026 calls. | the latest NAFOSTED call notice and funding-norm circular; the VINIF annual report or programme pages in Vietnamese. | NAFOSTED; VINIF | open | |
| OQ-055 | RIA1, RIA2 and RIA3 aquafeed alternative-protein trials (invisible in Scite). | search the Vietnamese-language fisheries journals, or call the RIA2 nutrition department. | RIA2 | open | |
| OQ-056 | Vietnamese researchers abroad in alternative protein. | ORCID and LinkedIn searches for Vietnamese names at Wageningen, NUS/ASTAR, Massey, Ghent, UC Davis and Tufts. Also ask GFI APAC and the Vietnam Innovation Network (NIC). | LinkedIn; GFI APAC; Vietnam Innovation Network; NIC | open | |
| OQ-057 | Current Vietnamese SATREPS, KOICA and Horizon Europe projects. | JST project list (Asia/Vietnam page), the KOICA Vietnam office, the EU CORDIS search. | JST; KOICA; EU CORDIS | open | |
| OQ-058 | Confirmation of probable institution attributions in publications.csv (44 rows marked Medium). | OpenAlex institution IDs, or read the paper headers. | OpenAlex | open | |
| OQ-059 | Resolution 57 and 36 targets and the MAE/MOIT biotech programme decision numbers. | thuvienphapluat.vn or vanban.chinhphu.vn. | open | ||
| OQ-060 | Any cultivated-meat or precision-fermentation lab activity in Vietnam not in journals (startups, hackathons). | GFI APAC Vietnam contacts; the startup map from the ecosystem agent. | GFI APAC | open | |
| OQ-124 | An OpenAlex run is still needed for the institution top 10, the international co-authorship share, year trends for the large topics, and China and South Korea as scale references. | get a free OpenAlex API key (developers.openalex.org) and run biblio_openalex_rerun_urls.txt. This needs about 100 calls, well inside the free USD 1 per day budget. | OpenAlex | open | |
| OQ-125 | Vietnamese-language journals (VJST, Can Tho University Journal, VNUA journals) are only partly indexed. | ask NAFOSTED or the Vietnam Citation Index (VCI) team for topic counts. | NAFOSTED; Vietnam Citation Index | open | |
| OQ-126 | GFI grants | re-check https://gfi.org/researchgrants/ for Vietnamese grantees in the 2025 to 2026 cycles. | open |
Capital (11)
| ID | Priority | Question | Cheapest way to close it | Who to ask | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OQ-061 | H1 2026 Vietnam VC and agritech totals. | Ask Do Ventures or VPCA for mid-year data, or use a DealStreetAsia "Vietnam Deal Review" subscription. | Do Ventures; VPCA; DealStreetAsia | open | |
| OQ-062 | DFIs other than IFC, Proparco and ADB (FMO, DEG, BII, JICA PSIF, KfW, Finnfund, Norfund) in Vietnamese agrifood. | Query each DFI's project disclosure portal filtered for Vietnam and agribusiness (one hour of desk work, now blocked by the search cap). | open | ||
| OQ-063 | CJ and Cau Tre (2016) and Masan and De Heus (feed divestment): date, stake, price, multiple. | Check HNX/UPCoM filings (Cau Tre; Masan MEATLife, ticker MML) and the CJ and De Heus annual reports. | check HOSE/UPCoM filings. | Check CJ CheilJedang press releases and the Vietnamese business registry (masothue / National Business Registration Portal); read the can label. | Check CJ CheilJedang's 2016 disclosures on Korea's DART system, or the Cau Tre shareholder filings. | Masan; De Heus; CJ CheilJedang; DART | partly closed | |
| OQ-064 | Food M&A multiples in Vietnam. | Ask VPCA or Mekong Capital; PitchBook or Mergermarket comps. | VPCA; Mekong Capital; PitchBook; Mergermarket | open | |
| OQ-065 | Vietnamese aquaculture-tech, feed-tech, microalgae and plant-based dairy startup deals. | Pull a Tracxn or PitchBook sector list for Vietnam; ask GFI APAC for its company database entries for Vietnam. | Tracxn; PitchBook; GFI APAC | open | |
| OQ-066 | Entobel's financing after 2023 (debt, any Series C, new plants) and whether the IFC USD 10M proposal was cancelled. | Check the IFC disclosure portal (projects 45769 and 46903) and ask Entobel directly. | Look it up in the IFC project search directly (the site is JavaScript-only and not readable here). | IFC; Entobel | partly closed | |
| OQ-067 | Did Mavin's USD 90.6M IFC package close? | Check the IFC disclosure portal. | IFC | open | |
| OQ-068 | APAC alt-protein investment totals, 2023 to 2025. | Download the GFI APAC State of the Industry reports (behind a form). | GFI APAC | open | |
| OQ-069 | Thai Union Ventures, CPF, Wilmar and ADM Ventures activity in Vietnam. | Check company annual reports. | open | ||
| OQ-070 | NIC, SIHUB, Vietnam Silicon Valley, BK Holdings and university incubator programmes for food and biotech in 2026. | Call NIC (under MOST, after the MOST and MIC merger) and SIHUB directly. | NIC; MOST; SIHUB | open | |
| OQ-071 | Navigation Fund alt-protein policy RFP: could not be located. | Email the Navigation Fund. | Navigation Fund | open |
Regional position (8)
| ID | Priority | Question | Cheapest way to close it | Who to ask | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OQ-072 | BBGI termination notice (22 Sep 2026). Which plant, why, and does it affect Aleph's Thai plant? | Read the SET filing on set.or.th or email BBGI Investor Relations. | BBGI | open | |
| OQ-073 | 16 | ScaleUp Bio 2026: current capacity, food share of work, pricing, whether Nurasa exited, and willingness to take Vietnamese clients. | Email ScaleUp Bio business development. | ScaleUp Bio | open |
| OQ-074 | 17 | EECi pilot plant: food-grade (GMP, HACCP) status, fees, foreign-client terms. | Email the EECi contacts listed on the pilot plant page. | EECi | open |
| OQ-075 | Malaysia: text of the novel food provision and approval list. | Read the MOH FSQD novel food guideline (site was unreachable). | MOH; FSQD | open | |
| OQ-076 | China: NHC approval dates for Fushine and Angel Yeast; MARA new feed ingredient certificates; capacities of methanol, ethanol and gas-based SCP makers (for example CAP producers). | Ask the GFI APAC China team or read MARA and NHC announcements. | Beijing Shougang LanzaTech and Calysseo investor materials; GFI APAC China team. | Read the MARA notice on moa.gov.cn directly (numeric targets not verified this wave). | GFI APAC; MARA; NHC; Beijing Shougang LanzaTech; Calysseo | open | |
| OQ-077 | Hawkwood's unnamed Vietnamese "large-scale biomanufacturing facility" and its sugar data sources. | Email the authors (Morton, Powell, Day). | Morton, Powell, Day | open | |
| OQ-078 | 15 | Can a product made in Vietnam be exported to Singapore under an SFA approval? | Check SFA's import and overseas-establishment rules for novel foods. | SFA | open |
| OQ-079 | Singapore fees and statutory timelines under the FSSA. | Read the FSSA (Authorisations, Administration) Regulations 2025, Second Schedule. | open |
Costs (11)
| ID | Priority | Question | Cheapest way to close it | Who to ask | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OQ-081 | 10 | Cassava starch, chips, glucose syrup, molasses and ammonium sulfate | check the feedstock agent's files. Otherwise use the Vietnam Cassava Association or VSSA (sugar), or Tay Ninh starch factories. | Vietnam Cassava Association; VSSA | partly closed |
| OQ-082 | Construction cost per m2 for food/biotech factories | read MOC Decision 409/QD-BXD, Part 2, Chapter II (industrial works). Cross-check with the Cushman & Wakefield, RLB or Arcadis Asia construction cost guide (HCMC and Hanoi). | Cushman & Wakefield; RLB; Arcadis | open | |
| OQ-083 | Engineer, biotech and QA salaries | Navigos Group salary report 2026, Talentnet-Mercer Total Remuneration Survey, or Adecco Vietnam salary guide. | Navigos Group, Talentnet-Mercer or Adecco Vietnam 2026 salary guides. | Navigos; Talentnet-Mercer; Adecco | open | |
| OQ-084 | Natural gas and CNG prices for industry; steam tariffs in industrial parks | request quotes from PV GAS D and Gas South; ask Nhon Trach or Phu My park operators. | PV Gas; BSR (Dung Quat CO2 capture); starch-factory biogas. | PV GAS D; Gas South; BSR | open | |
| OQ-085 | Logistics: trucking cost per tonne-km and 20/40 ft container rates HCMC to Singapore or Shanghai | ask the Vietnam Logistics Business Association (VLA) or a forwarder; Drewry/Freightos spot rates. | Vietnam Logistics Business Association; VLA; Drewry; Freightos | open | |
| OQ-086 | Precision fermentation cost benchmarks | GFI APAC (precision-fermentation cost analyses); Synonym/Roebling capacity reports; Liberation Bioindustries capex (ask the company). | GFI APAC; Synonym; Roebling; Liberation Bioindustries | open | |
| OQ-087 | Plant protein isolate and HME capex | equipment quotes (Buhler, Clextral, Famsun); read Jarunglumlert et al. 2023 (Thailand). | Buhler; Clextral; Famsun | open | |
| OQ-088 | Official grid emission factors for 2024 and 2025: MAE Department of Climate Change. | open | |||
| OQ-089 | 19 | End date of the 8% VAT reduction, and whether a new feed ingredient (for example SCP) automatically counts as "animal feed" for VAT non-taxability | regulation agent or the General Department of Taxation. | General Department of Taxation | open |
| OQ-090 | Retail pangasius price | VASEP bulletin or a store check. | VASEP | open | |
| OQ-091 | Social insurance rates after the 2024 Social Insurance Law | confirm with the regulation agent. | open |
Formulation and retail (7)
| ID | Priority | Question | Cheapest way to close it | Who to ask | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OQ-092 | 7 | Is any TVP extruded in Vietnam, and by whom? | Call Thanh Dũng (Thuận An, HCMC), An Nhiên/Phạm Gia Phát and Âu Lạc and ask where their TVP comes from; ask VMC Group (Phụ Gia Việt Mỹ) which TVP brands it sells. Buy consignee-level customs records for HS 2106.10 and 1109 from a trade-data vendor (for example Tradeimex or Volza) to name the importers. | Customs HS code data for soy protein isolate imports (HS 3504) and TVP (HS 2106.10) would show import dependence. Ask Vinasoy, and the instant coffee spray-dryers (Nestle Tri An, Masan/Vinacafe Bien Hoa, Trung Nguyen), about toll drying. | Thanh Dũng; An Nhiên; Âu Lạc; VMC Group; customs; Tradeimex; Volza; Vinasoy; Nestle; Masan; Trung Nguyen | open |
| OQ-093 | Protein content of conventional equivalents. | Photograph nutrition panels of Vissan giò lụa, giò thủ and chả giò thịt and Cầu Tre chả giò thịt on the next store visit. | open | ||
| OQ-094 | Domestic mung bean production and prices. | NSO (GSO) statistical yearbook; MAE crop statistics. | NSO; MAE | open | |
| OQ-095 | 18 | Where Vinamilk's pea protein comes from. | Vinamilk procurement or investor relations; customs HS 3504/2106 consignee data. | Vinamilk; customs | open |
| OQ-096 | Tàu hũ ky and mì căn import volumes. | Vietnamese customs 8-digit lines (for example 2106.90 sub-lines) via the General Department of Customs or a trade-data vendor. | General Department of Customs | open | |
| OQ-097 | Lab verification. | Send 10 to 15 high-volume chay SKUs to a Vietnamese accredited lab (for example a NIFC or Quatest unit) for protein and moisture; label values here are unverified. | NIFC; Quatest | open | |
| OQ-098 | Coverage of chay specialty shops and online. | A half-day visit to 3 or 4 dedicated chay stores in HCMC (Nguyễn Kiệm area near Âu Lạc) and a scrape of Shopee/Lazada chay listings would fill the small-maker gap. | Âu Lạc | open |
Science (7)
| ID | Priority | Question | Cheapest way to close it | Who to ask | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OQ-099 | Aro et al. 2023 T. reesei titers | read the open-access full text at doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2022.112131 (one read). | open | ||
| OQ-100 | Name and accession of the striped catfish gill line | email ICAR-NBFGR National Repository of Fish Cell Lines (Lucknow). | ICAR-NBFGR | open | |
| OQ-101 | EU status of Wolffia | read the Union list entry and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/2223 on EUR-Lex; check the EC novel food catalogue entry for Wolffia. | open | ||
| OQ-102 | FeedKind (Calysta) shrimp and fish trials | search Aquaculture and Aquaculture Nutrition for "FeedKind" and "Methylococcus capsulatus" 2019 to 2026. | open | ||
| OQ-103 | Spirulina protein content and digestibility | one targeted Scite search (Braune et al. 2025, Life 15:1789 is a starting review). | open | ||
| OQ-104 | 14 | Tropical cooling cost | ask a Vietnamese MSG or yeast plant (Vedan, Ajinomoto, AB Mauri) for chiller energy per m3 of broth; no paper found. | Vedan; Ajinomoto; AB Mauri | open |
| OQ-105 | Duckweed PDCAAS | ask whoever cited 0.89 for the primary source. | open |
Feed market (3)
| ID | Priority | Question | Cheapest way to close it | Who to ask | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OQ-108 | Absolute shrimp and pangasius feed prices. | A current dealer price list (dai ly thuc an) from the Mekong Delta, or VASEP's cost-of-production series. | VASEP | open | |
| OQ-109 | Tilapia and pangasius SCP or yeast replacement thresholds. | Targeted Scite search next wave; Can Tho University and Nong Lam University aquaculture faculties. | Can Tho University; Nong Lam University | open | |
| OQ-110 | FAO SOFIA 2024 fishmeal figures read directly. | FAO page returned 403; try the FAO Open Knowledge repository PDF. | open |
Geography, institutions and outlook (6)
| ID | Priority | Question | Cheapest way to close it | Who to ask | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OQ-111 | Commune-level count after 1 July 2025 (about 3,321 in agent knowledge). | NA Standing Committee resolutions on each province's commune reorganisation (June 2025) on thuvienphapluat, or the Ministry of Home Affairs. | Ministry of Home Affairs | open | |
| OQ-112 | Law on Organisation of Local Government 2025 (number and date; the two-tier model). | thuvienphapluat search "Luật Tổ chức chính quyền địa phương 2025". | open | ||
| OQ-113 | MOF, MOIT and MOH unit lists after March 2025, and which MOIT unit keeps food-safety duties until the new Food Safety Law. | read Decrees 29/2025, 40/2025 and 42/2025 on thuvienphapluat. | open | ||
| OQ-114 | China 15th Five-Year Plan text on biomanufacturing and food. | the NPC outline (Xinhua full text, March 2026). | open | ||
| OQ-115 | Food Safety Law vote date. | the National Assembly session agenda (quochoi.vn) for the second 2026 session; REG2 agent. | National Assembly | open | |
| OQ-116 | World Bank long-run price paths (none after 2027). | the IMF WEO commodity assumptions, or the OECD-FAO baseline (to 2034). | IMF; OECD | open |
Infrastructure and talent (3)
| ID | Priority | Question | Cheapest way to close it | Who to ask | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OQ-121 | 13 | Which labs hold amino-acid and digestibility methods in their VILAS scope. | Phone NACEFA (024 38582752), NIFC, Eurofins Sac Ky Hai Dang (+84 28 7107 7879) and CASE. Or query BoA by field "Hóa" and province using the form at boa.gov.vn. | NACEFA; NIFC; Eurofins Sac Ky Hai Dang; CASE; BoA | open |
| OQ-122 | Location and scope of Centre II (Decision 3065/QĐ-BNNMT) and aquatic Region I (Decision 173/QĐ-TSKN). | Read those two decisions on thuvienphapluat.vn. | open | ||
| OQ-123 | National key laboratories relevant to food and biotech. | Get the list from MOST (now the merged Ministry of Science and Technology). | MOST | open |
Futures 2030 to 2050 (28)
| ID | Priority | Question | Cheapest way to close it | Who to ask | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OQ-128 | Average soybean-meal inclusion and feed conversion by species and farm type, as a time series. | Data from three large mills and the Vietnam Feed Association under confidentiality; the first national protein balance (RM-01). | Vietnam Feed Association; MAE Department of Livestock Production and Animal Health | open | |
| OQ-129 | Monthly imports of yeasts, protein preparations and feed additives from China (HS 2102, 3504, 2309): volumes and unit values. | Vietnam customs monthly data; ITC Trade Map. | Vietnam customs (MOF) | open | |
| OQ-130 | Is Thai Duong Feed JSC's yeast-protein line (national project 2016 to 2019) still operating, and at what volume? | Ask the company; check MAE feed lists; read NASATI report 16724/2019. | Thai Duong Feed JSC; MAE; NASATI | open | |
| OQ-131 | Volume and purity of CO2 at named sites (ethanol, fertiliser, refineries, Formosa Ha Tinh, cement, steel). | Company sustainability reports; the MAE list of facilities that must report emissions. | MAE Department of Climate Change; plant operators | open | |
| OQ-132 | Status of Vietnamese green hydrogen projects, including the Tra Vinh plant and any electrolyser at investment decision. | IEA hydrogen projects database; MOIT; provincial portals of Vinh Long, Ca Mau, Dong Thap. | MOIT; provincial People's Committees | open | |
| OQ-133 | Do hi-tech agriculture zones under Decree 263/2026 admit full-scale feed or fermentation plants, or only research and pilots? | Read Articles 4 to 7 of the decree in full; ask a provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment. | MAE; provincial People's Committees | open | |
| OQ-134 | Where will MAE site its biotechnology clusters and innovation centres (plan due December 2026)? | MAE portal from December 2026. | MAE | open | |
| OQ-135 | Has the national biotechnology strategy 2026 to 2030 (vision 2045) been issued, and does it name fermentation, feed protein or new food? | vanban.chinhphu.vn; mst.gov.vn. | MOST | open | |
| OQ-136 | What does NDC 3.0 (2026 to 2035) set for agriculture and livestock, and has the 2025 national climate scenario been published? | UNFCCC NDC registry; IMHEN; MAE Department of Climate Change. | MAE | open | |
| OQ-137 | Is the 2050 methane target in Decision 896 measured against 2020 or 2030? | Read the signed PDF of Decision 896. | MAE | open | |
| OQ-138 | Vietnam-specific aquaculture projections beyond 2035, including SSP-based projections for shrimp and pangasius. | WorldFish Vietnam team; AsiaFish or FishMIP runs. | WorldFish; RIA2 | open | |
| OQ-139 | Marine finfish output and marine-feed volume in 2025. | MAE annual fisheries review; volumes from the main marine-feed mills. | MAE Directorate of Fisheries; feed mills | open | |
| OQ-140 | EPA plus DHA requirements of Vietnamese farmed species (whiteleg shrimp, cobia, pompano, grouper, lobster). | Targeted literature review; RIA3 (Nha Trang). | RIA3; Nha Trang University | open | |
| OQ-141 | Does Vietnamese feed law allow microbial protein grown on waste-derived substrates (wastewater, food waste, manure gas)? | One question to MAE's livestock and fisheries departments. | MAE | open | |
| OQ-142 | Delivered price, current uses and pretreatment behaviour of high-silica Mekong rice straw. | Provincial agriculture departments; a bench study at a Vietnamese university. | Can Tho University; provincial departments | open | |
| OQ-143 | Feed-list status of bacterial biomass, steel-gas protein and methanotroph meal. | One call to MAE's livestock and fisheries departments. | MAE | open | |
| OQ-144 | Vietnamese grid cells in the Fasihi et al. global single-cell-protein model. | Download the model's source data and extract Vietnam. | Model authors | open | |
| OQ-145 | Observed capital cost of first commercial microbial-protein plants and a global capacity baseline. | Exchange filings (Solar Foods, Unibio, Chinese producers); GFI capacity data. | GFI; company investor relations | open | |
| OQ-146 | Vietnamese life-cycle data for cassava starch, glucose and fermentation, with and without biogas. | Data from a starch plant with biogas; published Vietnamese LCAs in full. | Starch processors; universities | open | |
| OQ-147 | What does a combined efficiency plus alternative-protein scenario give for 2050 soybean-meal need? | Add a fifth scenario to balance_assumptions.csv and rerun tools/balance_model.py. | AltProtein Vietnam | open | |
| OQ-148 | Would Vietnamese stakeholders choose the same scenario axes, worlds and vision ranges? | One small scenario workshop with MAE, MOST, feed mills and investors. | AltProtein Vietnam with NISTPASS | open | |
| OQ-149 | Would an independent panel score the plays and moves the same way? | A second panel scores blind; compare. | AltProtein Vietnam | open | |
| OQ-150 | ACFTA and RCEP preferential tariff rates on HS 2102, 2106.10 and 3504. | Preferential tariff decrees on thuvienphapluat.vn. | MOF | open | |
| OQ-151 | Soy and maize price paths after 2035 under climate scenarios. | Vietnam-specific IFPRI IMPACT runs. | IFPRI | open | |
| OQ-152 | Industrial pipeline gas price in 2026, for methane-based protein. | A quote from PV GAS or Gas South. | PV GAS; Gas South | open | |
| OQ-153 | Design wet-bulb temperature for Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho, now and in 2050. | ASHRAE data for Tan Son Nhat; TCVN 5687. | IMHEN; engineering consultancies | open | |
| OQ-154 | Extent of cassava mosaic disease, 2024 to 2026. | MAE Plant Protection Department. | MAE | open | |
| OQ-155 | Pig and aquaculture household counts and farm-worker ages from the 2025 census. | Full NSO census report tables. | NSO | open |