Cà Mau: Shrimp farmers start to empty ponds due to loss

Price of shrimp material reduced sharply in Cà Mau, making farmers worry about whether or not they should harvest because they will suffer from loss if they either harvest or keep farming.

The Cà Mau provincial Department of Industry and Trade informed on May 20 that the total export value of the province in the first three months of the year declined by over 26% from the same period last year (reaching USD 275 million). Besides, the price of shrimp material has dropped sharply for months.

The decline in exports and high inventories resulted in a serious reduction in the price of shrimp material in Cà Mau. Particularly, sales declined by over 62% in the US, over 31% in the EU, and over 50% in Japan. The average exporting price reached about 10.8 USD/kg, down 3.4% from the same period last year.

Traders of white leg shrimp informed on May 20 that the price of 30 count stayed at 114,000 dong/kg (it had been 173,000 dong/kg earlier this year), the price of 50 count was 93,000 dong/kg (it had been 120,000 dong/kg earlier this year), and the price of 70 count was 86,000 dong/kg (it had been 98,000 dong/kg earlier this year). Meanwhile, the price of black tiger shrimp was quite stable, the 20 count were sold at 190,000 dong/kg. Meanwhile, the price of input material used for production rise by 10% on average.

Nguyễn Hoàng Ân, Director of the Cái Bát Executive of aquaculture (in Hòa Mỹ commune of Cái Nước district of Cà Mau) said: “Shrimp farmers start to empty their ponds because the super-intensive shrimp culture model can cause high risks. Meanwhile, the price of white leg shrimp is low, thus farmers will face serious risks if stocking shrimp at this time”.

Lê Minh Sơn (in Phú Mỹ commune of Phú Tân district) said: “Shrimps have reached the harvest size. Farmers know that they will suffer from loss whether or not they harvest because of the declining price. But if we continue to keep shrimp in ponds, we may suffer from more loss due to costs on feed and electricity. Thus we have to harvest and empty the ponds to wait”.

Cà Mau has over 280,000 ha of shrimp farms, including advanced technology based intensive and super-intensive models, producing about 200,000 tons of shrimp every year. In 2022, seafood exports of Cà Mau (mainly shrimp) reached over USD 1 billion.

(Source: https://vietfishmagazine.com/)

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