In the days approaching Tet, the atmosphere of buying and selling lobster on rafts in Binh Ba island commune, Cam Binh commune, Cam Ranh city, Khanh Hoa province, still bustling.
“There are still a few days until Tet, but we still need to gather enough orders to ship the last trip of the year. This is our fourth shipment since China opened its border and eased epidemic prevention and control work,” said Ha Phuong, owner of a seafood business in Cam Ranh City.
Farmers profit billions
Remember 3 months ago, more than 50 cages lobster farming nearing the age to sell but no one asked to buy, Mr. Nguyen Tan Dung, living on Binh Ba island, Cam Binh commune, Cam Ranh city, mightn’t sit still.
“For a long time, lobsters have been exported to China, so when the epidemic hit, farmers did not know who to sell to. Shrimp to sell depends entirely on traders, so the price is always fluctuating, sometimes farmers suffer heavy losses because no one buys them,” said Mr. Dung.
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Lobster is increasing in price day by day. Photo: Xuan Hoat. |
Two months ago lobster price green to 450,000-500,000 VND/kg, lucky farmers break even, most of them “take the work for profit”, even loss.
I have just closed the sale of a ton of green lobster for 850,000 VND/kg. On January 19, traders will come to catch shrimp. It’s been a few years since we had a full and happy Tet like this year.
Mr. Nguyen Huu Hung, living in Cam Ranh City
“In early January, the Chinese side opened the border, so shrimp prices inched up day by day. Traders also gathered goods to meet export orders, so shrimp prices doubled. This year, minus the expenses, I also made a few hundred million profit, following paying the bank, spending capital to prepare for the new shrimp crop, the rest is also left over to buy a full Tet for my family, “Mr. Dung said happily.
And Mr. Nguyen Huu Hung, living in Cam Linh ward, Cam Ranh city, said that since the outbreak of the epidemic, there has never been a year near the Lunar New Year with high and expensive lobsters like this year. “I have just closed the sale of a ton of green lobster for 850,000 VND/kg. On January 19, traders will come to catch shrimp. It’s been a few years since we had a full and happy Tet like this year,” Hung shared.
According to farmers, this year the weather is favorable, Khanh Hoa has no storms, so shrimp farming is favorable, the loss rate is low, plus the price increases at the end of the year, so everyone is happy.
“During the Tet holiday, Chinese people’s demand for lobster consumption increases sharply, plus the epidemic prevention work is eased, so the export of goods is more favorable. Shrimp prices are increasing day by day, so traders like us are also easy to buy, farmers are also excited,” Phuong shared.
According to traders, the price purchased at rafts on January 18, is at 800,000-900,000 VND/kg for green lobster, while cotton lobster is 1.5-1.7 million VND/kg. With this purchase price, lobster farmers have made a profit of hundreds of millions, this is in contrast to the big shrimp scene that no one bought 2-3 months ago.
According to Mr. Nguyen An, Chairman of Cam Binh Commune People’s Committee, Binh Ba Island has 3 villages, Binh Ba Dong, Binh Ba Tay and Binh An with more than 1,000 households and 3,800 people. 85% of the population on the two islands are engaged in farming and fishing.
“The main economy of the people in the main island commune is lobster farming. Lobster farming has developed since 1990, initially there were only 5 cages with simple nets made of B40 iron net, but now it has grown to 400 rafts with thousands of cages for raising lobsters of all kinds, “said Mr. An.
Chairman of Cam Binh Commune People’s Committee also shared that he felt happy when the price of lobster skyrocketed near Tet. Currently, the commune has more than 20 billionaire households, earning several billion VND per year; Many households earn hundreds of millions of dong a year from lobsters.
Market anxiety
Currently, Cam Binh commune has nearly 90 hectares of aquaculture area, of which 58 hectares on Binh Ba island and 30 hectares on Binh Hung island, with 469 floating rafts and nearly 20,000 cages mainly for blue lobster farming.
However, Mr. Le Van Hoa, Vice Chairman of Cam Binh Commune Farmers’ Association, said that in recent years, lobster farming has faced risks because of polluted sea water and the consumption market depends on traders. when only exporting by small-pass to China.
“Shrimp farmers know the difficulty, so in recent years, they have also expanded the market and linked to consume lobsters, but the efficiency is not high because no enterprises have officially exported to foreign countries, so the price is not stable. “, said Mr. Hoa.
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Lobster is mainly exported through small quotas, depending on the Chinese market, so the price is not stable, the output is precarious. Photo: Xuan Hoat. |
Another problem that lobster farmers worry regarding is that the water environment gets more polluted every year.
“In the past, there were not many shrimp cages, so there was little waste from shrimp leftovers, and the water source was still secure. Currently, shrimp farming is thriving, the number of cages is dense, which has a great impact on the environment, so the disease is also more,” said Mr. Nguyen Tan Dung.
According to Chairman of Cam Binh Commune People’s Committee, Nguyen An, to solve environmental problems, people need to join hands. “The collection of waste from shrimp food must be hand-in-hand and self-disciplined. After collection, it is brought to the shore for treatment, not discharged into the environment, which will pollute and affect water sources. If that problem can be solved, shrimp productivity will be increased and development is more sustainable,” Mr. An said.
According to Khanh Hoa Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Cam Ranh City has regarding 56,000 lobster cages, of which most are green lobsters. Since the Chinese market reopened, every day, regarding 55 boats of traders go to farming areas to buy shrimp, with an output of more than 80 tons.
In other farming areas in Khanh Hoa province, such as Van Ninh with regarding 28,000 cages, Nha Trang with nearly 3,000 cages, etc., the lobster trade is also active. It is estimated that every day, the whole province has more than 100 tons of lobsters purchased for export and domestic consumption during Tet.
