Farmers cash in on shrimp prices

Despite the recent hikes in the prices of inputs, shrimp farmers in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta have been doing rather well for themselves as shrimp prices too have shot up.

Last month, feed manufactures including CP, Viet Thang, Cargill, UP and others decided to increase prices by 150 dong to 300 dong per kilogramme.

Nguyen Quang Huu, a shrimp breeder in Tien Giang Province’s Tan Phu Dong District, said the price of a juvenile had increased by 10 to 30 dong compared to the same period last year.

At the new rates, the cost of farming a kilogramme of black tiger prawn comes to around to 105,000 dong while they fetch around 205,000 dong , or a profit of 100,000 dong per kilogramme.

One ha yields profits of at least 500 million dong per crop while for white-leg shrimp it is 300 million dong. Farmers harvest a maximum of four times a year.

According to the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, in the first quarter of this year, both varieties were farmed in more than 300 ha of ponds, 54 per cent up from last year in the case of black tiger prawn and 99 per cent up in the case of white-leg shrimp.

Farmers in Ca Mau Province’s Dam Doi, Nam Can and Cai Nuoc districts also had good crops this year, harvesting six tonnes of shrimp per ha on average.

The Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) reported that last year shrimp exports were worth more than US$2 billion, a 20 per cent rise year-on-year and the highest ever value achieved by the country. Around 240,000 tonnes were exported, a 15 per cent increase in volume.

Viet Nam exported to 92 markets, most of which increased their purchases. Japan was the biggest buyer, accounting for 27.8 per cent, followed by the US (26.9 per cent), and the EU (16.2 per cent).

Mainland China and South Korea were also promising markets, according to VASEP. – VNS

Tags: Vietnam shrimp prices