Price of salmon in Sa Pa is at an all-time high

After the Covid-19 pandemic was controlled, the number of tourists to Sa Pa increased remarkably. During the recent holiday period from April 30 to May 1, Sa Pa town welcomed nearly 100,000 visitors. The rising number of tourists visiting Sa Pa in the summer leads to an increase in tourism and food services in order to meet the demand.

One of Sa Pa's specialty product is salmon. Visitors are unlikely to pass up on this fish when they visit the town. Therefore, the consumption of fresh salmon and processed products has increased sharply in recent weeks.

Mr. Le Trung Thuc, owner of Thuc Mai salmon farm in Can Ho Mong village, Ngu Chi Son commune, Sa Pa town, Lao Cai city, said that in addition to raising salmon and processing them into packaged products for consumption, the farm also purchases salmon from fish farmers in the area. However, the recent price of salmon purchased from farming ponds has increased to approximately 370,000 VND/kg, and nearly 420,000 VND/kg for salmons sold on the market. Nonetheless, the farm could not purchase much salmon because the farmers have run out of fish to sell.

"The price of commercial salmon has increased, and although it is beneficial for farmers, it is difficult for production because there is no fish available to purchase, or the price is forced. For larger orders, due to the higher prices, the products are sold more slowly than usual. However, trading partners also understand that Sa Pa salmon is not similar to other products. The price cannot be fixed immediately after signing the contract; instead, the price depends on the time of harvest, as well as the market" explained Mr. Le Trung Thuc.

According to Mr. Thuc, during the same period last year, the price of salmon only fluctuated around 200,000 VND/kg. Farmers are not interested in raising salmons because of the low price and also because they are unsure as to when tourism will recover. Therefore, when the flow of tourists to Sa Pa increases quickly, farmers do not have enough salmon to sell and the new litter has not yet grown.

The rapid increase in the price of salmon helps some households earn higher income in just a short amount of time. Mr. Chao Lao Khe's family in Can Ho A village, Ngu Chi Son commune has sold over 3 tons of salmon, earning nearly 1 billion VND in profit. His family is currently raising small fish, with 3 months remaining before sale. Mr. Khe expects salmon prices to remain high from now to the end of the year.

Mr. Chao Lao Ta in Can Ho B village, who has experience in salmon farming, said that there is not enough salmon in the village to sell. Many people had to pre-order, and even had to compete in prices to be able to purchase. Salmon is scare, and farmers could not expand their farming area because there was no room left in the village for farming.

According to Mr. Ta, there are households with only 4 to 5 ounces of salmon left, but they expect the fish to fully grow within 3 months, weighing around 1kg each and sold for 300,000 VND/kg. This is because when Sa Pa salmon reaches at least 5 ounces in weight, the fish can grow very quickly.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hai, Director of Sa Pa Research Center for Cold Water Aquaculture under Research Institute for Aquaculture No. I, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Vice Chairman of Sa Pa Cold Water Fish Association, said that after the Covid-19 pandemic was controlled, the number of visitors to Sa Pa town skyrocketed, so the consumption of Sa Pa salmon increased accordingly.

On the other hand, due to the impact of Covid-19, farmers reduced their scale of farming, so the output of Sa Pa salmon decreased, leading to a shortage in supply. While the market demand increases, farmers do not have enough salmon to sell. The gap in supply and demand has caused the price of Sa Pa salmon to soar as a result.

However, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hai also warned that if farmers raise salmon en masse, raise with high density or arbitrarily expand the scale due to the sudden increase in price, their farming scale can exceed planning. Furthermore, a lack of proper farming process application can cause disease outbreaks with very unpredictable consequences.