Large lobsters hard to sell, farmers suffer heavy losses

The paradox of large lobsters being cheaper than small ones

In recent months, lobster farmers in Cam Binh commune, Cam Ranh city - one of the main lobster farming areas in Khanh Hoa province, are disheartened by the paradox in the sale of large lobsters.

According to Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, an experienced farmer in Binh Ba Dong village, Cam Ranh city, lobsters are typically ready for sale after 8 to 9 months of farming, reaching an average weight of 0.3 kg each and qualifying as grade 1 lobsters. However, for the past three months, it has been unprecedented that the price of large lobsters over 0.3 kg is lower than that of small lobsters.

Specifically, traders are buying large lobsters over 0.3 kg at prices between VND 650,000 and 700,000 per kg, while small lobsters weighing between 0.2 and 0.3 kg are priced at VND 750,000 to 800,000 per kg. This situation has caused losses of VND million 20 to 30 per cage for local farmers during lobster harvests.

“Recently, due to the consistently low price of lobsters, averaging about VND 700,000 per kg, farmers have been incurring losses upon harvest. Consequently, most farmers have been forced to keep the lobsters beyond their optimal size, increasing costs by VND million 80 to 100 per cage.

When they can no longer hold to sell, many lobsters have surpassed the weight of 0.3 kg. With traders currently buying large lobsters at lower prices than small ones, most farmers are suffering heavy losses", Mr. Tuan explained. He added that his family recently sold a batch of lobsters from about 30 cages that had been farmed for 12 months (4 months overdue), resulting in a loss of nearly 600 million VND after expenses.

Similarly, in Song Cau town, Phu Yen province, farmers are worried as the market has recently reversed, favoring the consumption of small lobsters weighing less than 0.3 kg.

Mr. Doan Van Quang, director of the Song Cau Lobster Cooperative, said that this year, the costs of seed stock, feed, and labor for farming green lobsters have all risen sharply. With lobster prices below 800,000 VND per kg, most farmers are facing losses upon harvest. To make matters worse, traders have changed their purchasing preferences, favoring small lobsters weighing under 0.3 kg.

According to Mr. Quang, the current buying price for small lobsters in Song Cau town ranges from VND 750,000 to 800,000 per kg, while large lobsters are bought at VND 650,000 to 700,000 per kg. Given these prices, farmers are averaging losses of VND million 10 to 15 per cage since most of the lobsters raised have reached large sizes. Furthermore, as the rainy season approaches, many farmers are forced to sell at a loss to avoid further risks.

What are the causes?

Currently, lobsters farmed in Khanh Hoa and Phu Yen provinces are primarily exported to the Chinese market. However, according to Nguyen Trong Binh, director of Binh Tho Seafood Co., Ltd. (Cam Ranh city, Khanh Hoa), which specializes in purchasing lobsters for export to China, this year, due to economic difficulties, the spending power of the Chinese people is lower than in previous years. This has led to low lobster sales, resulting in purchase prices not being as high as last year.

"Every year, the Chinese market consumes 2 to 3 times more than this year; currently, the consumption of lobsters is very slow", Mr. Binh said.

Regarding the phenomenon of large lobsters being cheaper than small lobsters recently, Binh noted that in previous years, farmers would sell lobsters that weighed between 0.2 and 0.3 kg. However, this year, due to low purchase prices, farmers have kept their lobsters for a longer time, resulting in a large proportion of lobsters reaching sizes of 0.5 to 0.6 kg. Meanwhile, as mentioned earlier, selling in the Chinese market is also challenging, and they only purchase lobsters based on specific sizes. Therefore, small lobsters command higher prices than large lobsters.

According to farmers, last year, the average price for green lobsters ranged from 800,000 to 1 million VND per kg, and at times even exceeded 1.1 million VND per kg. However, this year, the average price for lobsters is only about 700,000 VND per kg, leading to losses for farmers upon sale.