Artemia cysts originating from Bac Lieu and Soc Trang are rated as having the best quality in the world by customers; however, domestic production accounts for only 1%, with the remainder being imported.
On May 15, in Bac Lieu City, the Department of Fisheries in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Bac Lieu Province and representatives of the UNDP/GEF SGP Program organized a workshop on “Assessing the potential and discussing solutions for developing Artemia in response to climate change in the Mekong Delta.”
Luu Hoang Ly, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Bac Lieu Province, stated that currently, the province has only one Artemia egg production factory, and three cooperatives specializing in Artemia farming, meeting only about 5-10% of local demand. The remaining Artemia cysts are mainly imported from countries such as the United States, China, and Russia. Locally produced Artemia is high-priced and therefore less used, despite its excellent quality. In 2023, domestic Artemia production reached only 9 tons, mainly in two provinces: Bac Lieu (6 tons) and Soc Trang (3 tons). Meanwhile, imported Artemia in 2023 was nearly 667 tons, accounting for more than 99%.
Tran Van Thua, Director of Doanh Dien Salt Cooperative (Dong Hai District, Bac Lieu), shared that the cooperative transitioned from salt production to Artemia farming in 2015. “After the transition, Artemia was purchased at a very high and stable price, upon product offtake contracts at market prices. If the yield is 80 kg/ha, the profit is higher than salt production. Additionally, Artemia can be farmed in combination with salt production and shrimp and crabs stocking during the rainy season, which is very effective. Therefore, our cooperative’s production plan for the upcoming period still involves Artemia production linkage,” said Tran Van Thua.
However, according to the Director of Danh Dien Salt Cooperative, current difficulties faced by Artemia farmers include environmental pollution and climate change. “Like this year, despite favorable conditions for Artemia production, we only harvested 750 kg/10 ha, with a yield of 75 kg/ha due to intense and prolonged heat,” Thua said.
Therefore, Thua suggested support for investing in saltwater storage ponds for early seeding and applying new technical measures to achieve high yields. With proper investment, Danh Dien Salt Cooperative could expand Artemia farming to over 20 ha, with yields over 100 kg/ha and high profits.
Cao Thanh Van, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vinh Chau – Bac Lieu Artemia Cooperative, shared that the cooperative has apply production linkage by providing technical support, breeding stock, feed, and offer product offtake contracts to farmers at market prices. Over a long period, Vinh Chau – Bac Lieu Artemia Cooperative has about 300 ha in the production linkage system, involving over 200 farming households, achieving an average yield of around 20 tons of fresh cysts per year.
According to Van, in 2024, the cooperative plans to farm Artemia on an area of 150 ha, including 50 ha in Bạc Liêu and 100 ha in Lai Hoa Commune (Vinh Chau, Soc Trang). If the yield reaches 100 kg/ha and price stays at 1.1 – 1.2 million VND/kg, the estimated profit will be 80 million VND/ha.
VFM
