One month ahead of the lunar New Year Festival or Tet, fishing villages in Ca Mau are busy preparing their special product for Tet market: dried siamese gourami or Trichogaster pectoralis.


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Used to be found in river, siamese gourami was first bred by farmers in Ca Mau in 2010.

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Siamese gourami is mainly bred in Tran Van Thoi district.

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In 2011, Ca Mau province’s “U Minh dried siamese gourami” brand was recognized by the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam and is currently owned by Tran Van Thoi district’s Farmers’ Association.

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The recognition has strongly promoted Ca Mau’s dried siamese gourami brand.

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In Khanh Hung commune and Tran Van Thoi town (Tran Van Thoi district), dried Siamese gourami is the local households’ major source of incomes.

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The local people make dried Siamese gourami for sale all year round.

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Supplies get increased as Tet approaches and this is also the local people’s main harvest.

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This trade has generated jobs for many local women.

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Prices of dried Siamese gourami vary between VND150,000 and VND300,000 (US$7- US$15) per kilo, depending on different species.

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The prices are said to get higher in the last months of the lunar year.

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Ca Mau people are expected to earn high profits from making dried Siamese gourami this year to enjoy happier Tet celebrations.

VOV