Sourcing, cold chain & handling.

Ethiopia has no coastline, and its lake fisheries — Tana, Ziway, Hawassa — are under growing pressure, with catches falling year on year. At the same time, demand from hotels, restaurants and households keeps rising. Local supply can't meet it consistently. Rather than compete for a shrinking resource, NileX is building a reliable line to some of the world's most productive, internationally certified fish sources — so our customers will get consistent quality and volume, all year round.

Not originally — and we think it's important to be clear about this. Salmon is a cold-water fish and isn't farmed in Vietnam or anywhere in the tropics. Our salmon is farmed in the cold waters of Norway and Chile, then processed in certified plants in Vietnam and imported to Ethiopia from Vietnam. Our whitefish — pangasius, basa and tilapia — is farmed in the Mekong Delta itself. Every product is traceable to its origin.

Often better. Our seafood is flash-frozen at the source — within hours of harvest — which locks in quality, texture and nutrition at their peak. So-called “fresh” fish that has travelled a long way may be several days old by the time it's served. Fish that is properly frozen and kept cold arrives in the condition it was in the day it left the water.

We will source only from plants certified to international standards — including HACCP, ASC and BRC — and approved by the food-safety authority in their country of origin. Every shipment will travel with the documents to prove it.

We'll keep the fish frozen at −18°C the whole way — from the plant, through shipping and customs, to your door. It's a true door-to-door cold chain, with no weak links where quality can slip.

It will travel in refrigerated sea containers for volume orders, and by air on direct routes from Vietnam for premium and time-sensitive supply. Both are kept cold the whole way.

Every shipment will come from certified plants, with health and origin certificates, and will be handled in line with Ethiopian Food and Drug Authority (EFDA) requirements. You get clear paperwork for every step, from source to delivery.

We'll deliver around Addis Ababa in our own refrigerated vans, straight from our cold store to your kitchen or shop. We are an importer and wholesaler, not an overnight courier: deliveries will be scheduled, local and cold.

Standing wholesale orders will run on agreed days each week. One-off orders are confirmed with Selam; cut-off times depend on your delivery window and current stock, and are set when we confirm your order.

For volume orders we'll arrange refrigerated transport to other cities on request. Tell us the destination and quantity and we'll confirm transit time and handling.

Wholesale and standing orders will have minimums that vary by species and format. Premium retail quantities are smaller. Selam will confirm the minimum for what you need.

Keep it frozen at −18°C or below until you're ready to use it. Our product arrives frozen solid; move it into your freezer as soon as it's delivered and it will keep its full shelf life.

Frozen at −18°C, it typically keeps for several months from the freeze date, which is written on every shipment. Once thawed, treat it as fresh fish and use it within 1–2 days.

We don't recommend refreezing after a full thaw — quality and safety both suffer. Thaw only what you'll use. Portion-frozen packs let you take out exactly what you need.

Thaw slowly in the fridge, ideally overnight, in the original pack or covered. Avoid thawing at room temperature. For a faster result, thaw the sealed pack under cold running water.

Exactly as you ordered it — scaled or unscaled, gutted, filleted, pin-boned, skin-on or skinless, portioned to a target weight, with the glaze level you asked for. Every shipment lists how the fish was prepared.

Glaze is a thin protective ice layer that prevents freezer burn. We agree the percentage with you up front and state the real fish weight, after the ice is removed — so you always know how much fish you're actually buying.