Mekong Delta farmers begin shrimp harvest
Farmers in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta region have begun this year’s first harvest season of brackish water shrimp, earning strong profits due to high prices and favourable breeding conditions.
The price of 30-piece-per-kilo size black tiger shrimp, which is bought at ponds by traders, is VND245,000-VND250,000 (US$10.6-US$10.8) a kilo.
Nguyen Duy Bao, who rotates growing shrimp and rice in a rice field in Kien Giang province’s An Minh district, said “At this price, shrimp-rice rotating farmers can earn a profit that is equal to 60%-70% of the production cost of shrimp.”
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| A farmer feeds shrimp in Kien Giang Province’s An Minh District. |
In the early months of this year the weather was not severe as during the same period of last year, so shrimp grew quickly, Bao said.
Farmers in Kien Giang have bred more than 102,000ha of shrimp in the first three months of the year, up 11 percent against the same period last year, according to the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
In Ca Mau province, which is the country’s largest shrimp producer, farmers who began breeding shrimp fries early this year have reaped their harvest.
Nguyen Van Thoa in Ca Mau province’s Phu Tan district has sold two ponds of white-legged shrimp after three months of breeding and got a profit of VND700 million (US$30,400).
Many farmers here have not bred shrimp this year because they were afraid of severe drought, salt water intrusion and poor harvest as last year, Thoa said.
This year, saline water intrusion in the delta occurred late and the salinity has been low so many farmers are waiting for the proper time to release shrimp fries into ponds for breeding.
At present, the weather is hot, causing a high content of pH (potential of hydrogen) in shrimp ponds or rapid growth of algae in shrimp ponds. This could affect the growth of shrimp.
Quach Thi Thanh Binh, deputy head of the Soc Trang province Aquaculture Sub-department, said farmers should regularly carry out water inspections as well as heed the warning of competent agencies about shrimp diseases in order to choose a proper time to put water into shrimp ponds.
Soc Trang will enter its main period for releasing shrimp fries into ponds for breeding after May when the rainy season officially begins, according to the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The province’s shrimp breeding areas expect to increase as the price of shrimp is high this year, said the department.
Soc Trang farmers have harvested more than 1,000ha of shrimp with a total yield of 4,153 tonnes so far this year.
Ngo Thanh Linh, General Secretary of the Ca Mau Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, said most shrimp processors in Ca Mau are facing a shortage of shrimp material.
The supply of raw shrimp can only meet 40%-50% of the demand of large shrimp processing firms in the province, he said.
In addition, the third quarter of the year is the main shrimp export season so most domestic shrimp processors are buying more raw shrimp to ensure their production.
The domestic supply of raw shrimp will not meet the demand of shrimp processors in the coming time and the price of shrimp will remain high, Linh said.
The delta, which accounts for more than 80 percent of the country’s shrimp breeding area, has raised more than 536,000ha of shrimp as of the end of last month, up about 53,300ha against the same period last year.
