Nearly 2 million VND for a red king crab

In peak season but attracting many customers, many places sell 1 kg king crab for up to 1.9 million VND, an increase of 15% compared to the same period last year.

A survey at import stores in Ho Chi Minh City showed that live king crabs weighing 900 grams to 1.2 kilograms each cost up to VND1.9 million. Those weighing 600-800 grams cost VND1.2-1.5 million. Particularly, crabs weighing 5-6 per kilogram cost VND500,000. This level increased by 10-15% compared to the same period last year.

Selling 1.9 million VND per kilo of swimming king crab, Mr. Thuan, the owner of a fresh seafood store in District 7 (HCMC), said that in 5 years of selling this type of seafood, he has never seen a price reduction. Especially the type weighing over 1 kg is always ordered by customers 15 days to a month in advance.

"This type of brick is fatty, the meat is sweet and fragrant and is rated as very delicious by customers," said Mr. Thuan.

Huynh De crab at Ms. Lan's shop is vacuum-packed. Photo: Le Lan — King crabs at Ms. Lan's shop are vacuum-packed. Photo: *Le Lan*

The regular arrival of goods is not enough to deliver to customers, Ms. Lan - the owner of a seafood store in Thu Duc city - said she has to import goods every day.

"Some days the store imports more than a hundred, but on less frequent days it only imports a few dozen. This type weighs 700-800 grams each and is vacuum-packed, so I sell it for nearly 1.2 million VND per kilogram," said Ms. Lan.

As for the 500,000 VND per kg product, Ms. Lan said that it is a rake product, not one that has to be dived to catch, but because of its small weight, it is cheap.

At Binh Dien wholesale market (HCMC), traders said that the goods arriving were not as much as in previous years because traders collected all the products at sea to sell to seafood wholesalers, so they were even scarcer when they arrived at the market. Usually, the goods arriving at the market were only under 1kg.

Explaining the increase in crab prices compared to the same period last year, seafood stores said that demand is higher than supply, pushing up prices. In addition, the cost of catching, transporting, and preserving fresh crabs is increasingly expensive, so the price of products arriving in Ho Chi Minh City and other provinces is increasing.

King crab is a type of sea crab that lives far from shore. They have eye-catching colors, delicious crab meat like lobster, firm, fragrant and fatty roe and contain many nutrients. The best season for king crab is from April to July every year and this is also the time when fishermen can easily catch "giant" sized crabs. They are abundant in the waters of Phu Quy (Binh Thuan) and Ly Son (Quang Ngai).

King crabs are caught by diving or using traps. The traps are shaped like a cone, with fresh bait attached in the middle. Some other places use a net with bait to lure the crabs to eat the bait and stick their legs into the net.

Thi Ha

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