100 tons of lobsters sold but no one bought them, farmers are "sitting on fire" again

On November 25, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) held a conference on the current status of supply of seeds, feed, and materials for marine aquaculture; traceability of product origin and solutions for sustainable development of Vietnam's marine aquaculture industry.

At the conference, delegates proposed many solutions to sustainably develop marine farming, as well as remove bottlenecks in lobster exports.

100 tấn tôm hùm bông bán không ai mua, nông dân lại ngồi trên lửa - 1 — Spiny lobsters in Vietnam are sluggish and difficult to export (Photo: Trung Thi).

Spiny lobster farmers "cry"

Speaking at the conference, Mr. Vo Van Thai, Director of Van Phong Aquaculture Cooperative, said that lobster farmers in Khanh Hoa are facing extremely difficult situations after China stopped importing.

"Since August, about 100 tons of lobsters from the cooperative have not been sold, making us restless," Mr. Thai shared.

100 tấn tôm hùm bông bán không ai mua, nông dân lại ngồi trên lửa - 2 — Mr. Thai spoke at the conference (Photo: Trung Thi).

Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Quyen, a large aquaculture farmer in Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa) also had to urgently call for help when she could not export her lobsters.

"Now that we can't export, people have run out of money to buy shrimp feed. Borrowing from outside at high interest rates is also not an option. Because shrimp can't be sold, no one dares to lend money," said Ms. Quyen.

Not only in Khanh Hoa, but also lobster farming areas in Phu Yen, Binh Dinh, Ninh Thuan are facing a lack of buyers.

Mr. Le Nguyen Quoc, Hoa Xuan Nam ward, Dong Hoa town (Phu Yen), said that his family raised 50 cages of spiny lobsters, with 150 lobsters/cage; the time to start raising them was from November 2022, the investment capital for breeds and feed up to now is about 2-3 billion VND, but when it comes time to sell, there are no buyers.

"The Chinese market has stopped buying, causing the price of lobsters to drop sharply. With the current amount of lobsters, I estimate a loss of nearly 1 billion VND," Mr. Quoc shared.

According to this farmer, before August, lobsters cost 1.7-1.8 million VND/kg, now they cost only 1-1.1 million VND/kg for grade 1 shrimp, and grade 2 shrimp costs less than 1 million VND.

Lobster exports to China decline

Mr. Le Ba Anh, Deputy Director of the Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) informed that China accounts for 98-99% of Vietnam's lobster export market share; other markets account for only 1-2%. However, in the first 9 months of 2023, lobster exports to the Chinese market only reached over 95 million USD, down more than 46% compared to the same period in 2022.

100 tấn tôm hùm bông bán không ai mua, nông dân lại ngồi trên lửa - 3 — Although the price of lobster has dropped sharply, there are no buyers (Photo: Phu Khanh).

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the reason for the lack of sales of spiny lobsters is that last May, China updated the list of wild animals that need protection and spiny lobsters were on this list.

By August, the export of spiny lobsters to China was suspended due to strict control of imported naturally caught spiny lobsters by customs at border gates.

Specifically, China does not import wild-caught spiny lobsters, only farmed spiny lobsters with clear origins. If the juveniles are harvested from the wild and put into farming, they are also considered natural lobster products.

Currently, the Fisheries Department is discussing with the Chinese Fisheries Department to clarify the list of rare and endangered aquatic species, China's control methods to guide the issue of spiny lobsters and be proactive with aquatic species on the list.

Mr. Phung Duc Tien, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that central ministries and branches are conducting bilateral exchanges with China to find outlets for spiny lobsters.

100 tấn tôm hùm bông bán không ai mua, nông dân lại ngồi trên lửa - 4 — Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien speaks at the conference (Photo: Phu Khanh).

The Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development also requested localities to guide, propagate and mobilize lobster farmers to strictly comply with the provisions of the law on fisheries; direct competent and specialized agencies to strictly control the import of lobster seeds in the area; review, inspect and certify the eligibility of lobster farming facilities, especially those exporting spiny lobsters.

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