If before, when coming to Lam Hai, people told stories about getting rich and prosperous thanks to shrimp and crab, in the past few years, the selling price of shrimp and crab has been unstable, increasing for a few days and then decreasing again, farmers "don't know what to do".
Visiting the shrimp and crab farming model under the forest canopy of Ms. Ngo Ngoc Luom's household in Trai Luoi B hamlet, asking about the family's shrimp and crab farming situation, Ms. Luom shook her head in disappointment: "Now I release the seeds sparingly and don't expect much. A few years ago, each tide brought my family an income of 15-20 million VND, on average, I could make 30 million VND a month. Now, each tide brings in a few million VND but not much. Partly because the water source is polluted, the shrimp farming is not as good as before, partly because the price of shrimp has dropped sharply, shrimp and crab farmers are no longer profitable."
Not only Ms. Luom’s household, but also the purchase price of shrimp and crab has affected farmers in the whole province. Shrimp farming used to be considered “one capital, four profits”, but now sometimes even breaking even is considered a blessing. Some households want to survive in the profession and have to do a “side job”. For example, Ms. Luom’s household does crab farming, supplying to households in the area and selling to districts in Kien Giang and Bac Lieu provinces.
Mr. Le Thanh Thua’s family in Ong Nguon hamlet is in the same situation. Mr. Thua shared: “Previously, while waiting for the shrimp to grow big enough to be released, my family would also do crab farming to sell to neighboring areas. It used to be a side job, but now it has become the main job because the prices of shrimp and crab are so unstable. Before, crab farming had a break, but now it is done all year round. The pond drying season is coming soon, hopefully the price will be more stable in the new crop.”
Mr. Nguyen Viet Khanh, Vice Chairman of Lam Hai Commune People's Committee, said: "The commune has planned 3 areas specializing in shrimp and crab production, including: a specialized area (758 hectares), the locality encourages people to raise super-intensive and intensive shrimp; land managed by the commune (181 hectares) and forest land managed by the Forest Management Board with more than 600 hectares, this area has a seafood company providing technical support for people to raise shrimp according to Organic standards, initially bringing very positive results", Mr. Khanh added.
Regarding the decrease in commercial shrimp prices, Mr. Khanh shared: “The price of 20 shrimp per kg used to range from 250-260 thousand VND/kg, now it is 180-190 thousand VND/kg; the price of 40 shrimp used to range from 130-140 thousand VND/kg, now it is only about 100 thousand VND/kg. This is a sharp decrease, greatly affecting people's income.”
“We also met with people and encouraged them to raise shrimp, but industrial farmers are drying their ponds because the price of essential materials has increased and they are not profitable; while super-intensive and intensive farmers are raising shrimp sparingly. We encourage them to raise a lot, but when it comes time to harvest, if the shrimp prices are not good, what should we do?” Mr. Khanh wondered.
According to the report of the professional sector, the productivity of aquatic products in the first months of the year increased by 4.8%, especially shrimp products increased by 5.8%. The province has held many meetings with businesses to jointly resolve difficulties and obstacles. People also complained about the problem of high input and low output, but this is due to market regulation, causing many difficulties for farmers in the province. The province has sent many documents to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to propose to the Government to find solutions in the coming time.
The whole province has 6,300 hectares of intensive and super-intensive farming, with over 7,000 farming households; the rest are engaged in extensive and improved extensive farming. Intensive and super-intensive farming households face many difficulties as shrimp prices continuously drop. And the story of "good harvest, low price" is no longer a one-day or two-day story but has been happening continuously for more than 6 months now, shrimp farmers are worried, wondering whether to continue farming or stop, if they stop farming shrimp, what to farm? The problem is extremely difficult.
Mr. Chau Cong Bang, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that in the coming time, there will be many difficulties for the aquaculture industry, with high prices of essential products, fluctuations in the export market, and difficulties in accessing capital for people to invest in shrimp farming.
"However, according to forecasts, shrimp prices will increase again. This is a good sign. However, compared to a few months ago, shrimp output in the province has decreased and is expected to decrease in the following months because people are still worried about prices and limit farming," said Mr. Bang.
The industry also recommends that localities replicate effective production models to reduce input costs. Creating connections right from the beginning of the season to get product consumption is the only way to help people stick with shrimp farming./.
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