Remove bottlenecks of output in lobster farming

Lobster prices are unstable

Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, a farmer in Binh Ba Dong village, Cam Binh commune, Cam Ranh city (Khanh Hoa province), said that for a long time, lobsters were mainly unofficial exported to the Chinese market. The output of consumer products is unstable because it depends on how strong or weak the market is, causing the price of lobster purchased by traders to fluctuate erratically.

Reality shows that when shrimp farmers have a good harvest, the price drops. "Normally, in the winter, the supply is scarce, while the Chinese market is strong, so the price of meat shrimp is purchased at a stable level. In the summer, from April to July every year, this market eats less, and traders buy shrimp at low prices," Mr. Tuan shared.

Mr. Tran Minh Hien, Head of the lobster cage farming cooperative group in Khai Luong village, Van Thanh commune, Van Ninh district (Khanh Hoa), said that the profession of lobster farming has helped change the lives of many coastal fishermen. However, the fate of the lobster, which has a high value, is uncertain regarding consumption.

In Phu Yen province, farmers said the purchasing price of lobster is also unstable. Furthermore, the lobster export market is unstable, causing farmers to face difficulties. Typically, in June 2022, many lobster cages in Song Cau town have reached harvest time, but very few traders come to ask to buy because they depend on the Chinese market. Next, recently, this market stopped importing tropical rock lobsters, causing farmers to suffer and have to wait in cages for traders.

Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development received feedback from several lobster export establishments and the Phu Yen Provincial Fisheries Association about China temporarily suspending the import of tropical rock lobsters. To verify the information and promptly remove related problems and create conditions for Vietnam's live seafood export activities to the Chinese market quickly, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Department of Quality and Processing and Market Development) has sent a document to the Embassy and Trade Office of Vietnam in China and the Nanning Customs Department, General Administration of Customs of China.

Hundreds of tons of tropical rock lobsters waiting for consumption

In Khanh Hoa, spiny lobsters are mainly raised in Van Phong Bay, Van Ninh district. According to the Van Ninh District Economic Department, the entire district has about 35,000 cages where people are raising lobsters. Of which, about 17,000 cages (nearly 50%) of tropical rock lobsters are mainly concentrated in Van Thanh commune.

According to Mr. Hoa, a farmer in Van Gia town, his family's farmed shrimp have reached a weight of 0.8 kg/head or more, costing VND 12-15 million to feed daily. Up to now, the investment cost for each cage to raise 70 heads is about VND 70 million, while the family has up to 80 cages, so the amount of money spent is huge.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Y, Head of the Economic Department of Van Ninh district, said that currently, in the district, there are about 150 tons of tropical rock lobster reaching harvest size (0.7 - 1 kg/head) and is expected from now until the end of the year. There are about 400 tons of commercial products. Recently, lobsters have been mainly exported to China, but traders are slow to purchase them, and people are losing capital.

According to farmers, the current price of cotton lobster ranges from VND 1.05 to VND 1.1 million/kg (depending on the type), while 3 months ago, it was from VND 1.6 to VND 2.1 million/kg.

To remove the backlog of cotton lobsters, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Y proposed that the competent authorities have solutions to create conditions for the consumption of cotton lobsters.

Mr. Nguyen Tri Phuong, Deputy Director of Phu Yen Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the province has more than 112,000 lobster farming cages. However, in recent years, people have mainly raised green lobsters, and very few cotton lobsters have been raised, accounting for only about 10% of output. It is expected that from now until the Lunar New Year, shrimp output will be about 600 tons, of which 60 tons are spiny lobsters.

Proposing MARD to remove bottlenecks of lobster exports

Mr. Nguyen Trong Binh, Director of Binh Thom Seafood Co., Ltd., Cam Ranh City (Khanh Hoa), specializing in purchasing and exporting lobster to the Chinese market, said that China is the largest lobster import market in Vietnam.

However, in recent months, when the Chinese market has tightened, lobster export businesses have had a sluggish business, so most have lost billions of dollars. Therefore, he proposed that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development negotiate with Chinese Customs to solve problems and create favorable conditions for goods and lobsters to flow smoothly.