Prices of farmed sea crab have increased since mid June 2020 in districts of U Minh Thượng region, Kiên Giang province, after a long time of slump.
Võ Văn Linh, in Nam Thái commune of An Biên district, said that a slump in prices before Tet Holiday resulted in a very few amounts of sea crab being stocked in shrimp ponds. He stocked 6,000 pcs in a 4-hectare pond and harvested them after 3 months. Fortunately, prices are inching up.
Linh decides to carry out a partial harvest as the farm gate prices of crab type 1 range at 420,000-450,000 dong/kg, up 80,000-100,000 dong/kg, crab type 4 is sold at 170,000-230,000 dong/kg, up 30,000 dong/kg. Farmers can earn 160 million dong profit from one hectare of stocking with such prices.
However, not all farmers are successful from farming sea crab, some households in U Minh Thượng feel sad of a unsuccessful crop while prices are increasing. Lê Minh Đấu, in Vĩnh Thuận commune, Vĩnh Thuận district, said that his stocking density was 2,000 pcs/ha, but the pond was hit by summer heat, making crabs not weigh up well and farmers earn very few profit.
Many farmers in U Minh Thượng district stocked crabs with shrimps in the same pond and achieved good outcome. Nguyễn Văn Tân, Deputy Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Office in the district said that farmers of all six communes stocked crabs with shrimps. However, after Tet Holiday, a plunge in prices of crab made farmers hesitate in stocking. In spite of high prices, there’s only 200ha of shrimps and crabs farmed together.
Lê Hồng Khanh, Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Office of An Minh district said that after a while of slump in prices, farmers hesitated in stocking crabs due to their fear of poor sales.
However, the Agriculture and Rural Development Office of An Minh district is disseminating and encouraging farmers to keep their stocking area. Most crabs can be farmed with shrimps in the same pond, therefore, it requires a few initial investments and feed and faces low risks. When prices are increasing, farmers earn a lot of profit.
VFM
