VietNamNet Bridge - Damage to a large brackish-shrimp farming area in the Mekong Delta, caused by prolonged drought and saline intrusion, could cause a shortage of shrimp materials for export.

The latest report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) showed that 1,360 hectares of shrimp ponds in Bac Lieu province have been damaged. The figure is 2,700 hectares in Ca Mau. Heavy damage has also been reported by provinces where farmers follow sustainable cultivation models.

Nguyen Thi Thiet in Vinh Trach Dong Commune of Bac Lieu province said shrimp have died en masse in recent days.

“The water is too hot and salty,” she explained.

Lieu Van Nhi, a farmer in the same commune, said he decided to give up the crop. “Shrimp won’t be able to grow in such conditions. We will waste money if we continue pouring money into shrimp ponds. Nothing will help except the rains,” Nhi said.

Tien, the owner of a shrimp farm in Ly Van Lam Commune of Ca Mau province, also said he cannot do anything except wait for rain.

So Thanh and hundreds of shrimp farming households in Thoi Binh district have been following the rice-shrimp cultivation model for a few years. The advantage of the model is that they can both create the living environment for shrimp and harvest rice. However, the problem is that if rice withers, shrimp will die.

“We have lost all: we don’t have shrimp or rice,” Thanh said, adding that he had never sustained such a big loss.

The latest report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) showed that 1,360 hectares of shrimp ponds in Bac Lieu province have been damaged.

According to MARD, the shrimp price has stayed high so far this year as the supply of shrimp for export is short due to the unfavorable conditions.

Vietnam has spent $228 million to import materials to fulfill export contracts. The imports are mostly from India (34.1 percent), Norway (8.1 percent), Taiwan (6.8 percent), Japan (5.5 percent) and South Korea (5.1 percent).

Ngo Thanh Linh, secretary general of the Ca Mau provincial Seafood Exporters and Producers (CASEP), confirmed that the material shortage has occurred in Ca Mau, the largest shrimp farming province. The supply is only 37-38 percent of processing workshops’ capacity.

Le Van Quang, chair and general director of Minh Phu Seafood, confirmed that the factory now runs at 80-90 percent of the designed capacity. Meanwhile, orders from export markets have increased.

MARD’s Deputy Minister Vu Van Tam said the drought and saline intrusion in Mekong River Delta is ‘very serious’ which has affected aquaculture and seafood exports.

The volume of farmed shrimp in the months from December 2015 to March 2016 was just equal to 50 percent of that of the same period last year. 


NLD