Vietnam exported roughly US$10 billion of seafood in 2024, according to VASEP, and a large share of that moved on a one-line email: product, size, price. Most of the disputes I get pulled into later trace back to that one line. The buyer pictured one product, the factory quoted another, and both were technically right. A written specification is the cheapest insurance in the trade, and it takes about an hour to build once.
Why the one-line quote fails
A quote for "frozen pangasius fillet, 5-7 oz, 10kg carton" leaves at least six variables open: trim grade, phosphate or water-retention agent use, glaze percentage, net weight basis, packing format, and shelf-life at shipment. Each one moves the real cost per kilo of edible product. Two factories can quote the same headline price and differ by 10 to 15 percent in what you actually receive, mostly through glaze and added water. In my own comparisons of offers for the same product, the cheapest quote was the one with the loosest spec more often than not.
The fields a spec sheet needs
I build the sheet in five blocks, and I send it to every factory before asking for a price.
Product identity. Species with Latin name, product form (fillet, HLSO, block, whole round), trim level, skin-on or skinless, and size grade with the counting basis stated (pieces per pound, per kilo, or grams per piece). "Shrimp 31/40" is not a spec until you say headless shell-on and whether the count is on frozen or thawed weight.
Weight and glaze. State net weight after glaze removal, not gross. Write the glaze limit as a number (for example, maximum 10 percent for fillets, with a stated test method) and say that the invoice is on net weight. Without this line, glaze becomes a price lever the factory controls.
Quality limits. Moisture or water-to-protein limits where relevant, additive declaration (phosphates, sulfites, CO), maximum defect tolerance per carton, and core temperature at loading. If you sell to a retailer with its own standard, attach it and require the factory to confirm in writing that it can meet it.
Compliance. Approved establishment number for your destination market (EU, US, China and Japan each keep their own lists), HACCP plan, and the certificates required with each shipment: health certificate, certificate of origin, and catch or farm documentation where the market requires it. Name who pays for re-testing if a lab result fails on arrival.
Packing and logistics. Inner and outer carton dimensions, printed label content and language, pallet configuration, container type with reefer set point, and the incoterm with the named port.
Comparing quotes on the same basis
When three quotes come back, I convert each to cost per kilo of net product at the specified glaze and trim. A simple sheet does it: headline price, divided by the net weight fraction, plus freight and packaging differences. The conversion often reorders the ranking. The factory that looked 4 percent more expensive can be 6 percent cheaper once glaze and carton weight are normalized.
Check the points that spec sheets expose by omission. A factory that will not commit to a glaze number is telling you something. A factory that answers every line within a day and proposes a tighter tolerance on one of them usually runs a controlled process.
Turning the spec into a contract
The spec sheet only protects you if it is attached to the sales contract and referenced in the purchase order. Include an agreed pre-shipment inspection (a third-party check at loading, or a sample from the production lot), a defined claim window after arrival, and the remedy: credit note, replacement, or price adjustment. Keep retained samples from each lot with the production code, because that is the evidence if a claim goes to dispute.
What I would do first
Take your last purchase order and write the spec for it retroactively. The fields you cannot fill in are the ones you were buying on trust. Fix those before the next order, send the same sheet to every candidate factory, and compare on net cost. If you want a starting template for a specific product, tell me the species and form and I will adapt one. I earn a commission agreed upfront with each buyer, and I do not supply product myself, so the sheet is built to protect the buyer's side of the table.
Sourcing frozen seafood from Vietnam?
I work with international buyers on sourcing, supplier evaluation, and factory inspection. If you're evaluating Vietnamese suppliers for this category, I can help you avoid the common pitfalls.
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