Nguyen Van Long, head of the Department of Animal Health, said that crawfish (Procambarus clarki) is listed in a Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment’s (MONRE) circular released in 2018 as a potentially invasive alien species.

Live crawfish is not found in the list of seafood species that can be traded in Vietnam in Decree 26 released in 2019.

Experts warn that crawfish can become a disaster for the agricultural industry. It has a habit of crawling at the bottom, to dig burrows, likes the dark, and has nocturnal activities.

The crawfish is as small as Vietnam’s white-leg shrimp, with little shelled shrimp. However, when the shrimp is cooked, it has an attractive red color and good taste. It can be used to make many dishes, such as lobster with garlic butter sauce, tamarind sauce or spicy stir-fry.

Chinese crawfish is selling at VND360,000-400,000 per kilogram in Vietnam. The current price is 30-40 percent lower than last year, but still much more expensive than Vietnam’s white-leg shrimp.

According to Nguyen Thi Thu, a wholesaler of crawfish in Hanoi, May-July is the high crawfish season in China. As the supply is plentiful, and the import volume is high, the selling prices have decreased compared with previous years.

“Crawfish is selling at VND360,000 per kilogram, a good price compared with the VND500,000-600,000 last year,” she said.

Thu revealed that frozen crawfish is selling to restaurants which process different dishes, while fresh shrimp is selling to households as buyers want to see that the shrimp is still alive. Most of her clients order large quantities.

“The shrimp can live for one day without water, and for one week if they are put into a water tank,” she said, adding that she can sell 50-60 kilograms of crawfish a day.

Ly Thi Diep, another wholesaler, confirmed that crawfish has been selling well since the beginning of June. She committed not to sell dead shrimp and will compensate clients if dead shrimp is found.

“As the supply is plentiful, clients will get prompt delivery. The price is very reasonable, just VND370,000 per kilogram,” she said.

Thu and Diep told VietNamNet that they did not know about the regulation on prohibiting exotic trade.

Tam An