VietNamNet Bridge – Several years ago, Nguyen Thanh Trung decided to return home in Dong Nai Province to breed insects and lizards after he could not earn enough as a photocopy machine repairman in HCMC. Trung used his family’s land to build an insect breeding facility in the province’s Dinh Quan District.

A breeder shows centipedes to a customer.

When asked about the reason for breeding these creatures, he explained that it requires a smaller upfront amount of capital, around tens of millions of dong, to start up business than raising pigs and chickens, which may costs hundreds of millions of dong.

Before business started, Trung had spent lots of time and effort inspecting many parts in and outside the province. At first, Trung went to his acquaintance’s insect farm in the same district to buy more than 500 lizards, 1,000 crickets and 1,000 grubs for a total of VND7 million. Then he invested money in an insect breeding facility as well as feed.

In addition to Trung, another woman identified as Lan who is experienced in insects said insects are much easier to breed and can generate high profit because there are many people who want to buy insects for making pharmaceutical products and delicious dishes. Feed for insects includes steamed rice, ground meat and animal organs.

Regarding prices, a four-month scorpion costs VND8,000 and VND300,000 per kilo. Meanwhile, a seven-month gecko weighing around 100 grams fetches VND100,000, Lan said.

Duong The Hiep, director of Insect World Trading services one member Co. Ltd., which has a huge insect farm in Dong Nai, said its current supplies cannot meet needs for domestic consumption and export.

An enterprise in Taiwan has recently placed an order for nearly 250 kilos of dried centipedes worth over VND700 million, but the company can meet less than one-third of that order. A kilo of dried centipedes worth VND2.8-3.5 million is processed from four kilos of live ones. These insects are mostly shipped to Taiwan, India and Pakistan.

The company exports one ton of dried lizards, each kilo worth VND1 million, a year. However, a spider species called haplopelma longipedum is very expensive. A kilo of dried haplopelma longipedum containing about 300 spiders can fetch VND12 million.

SGT