Photo illustration: TTXVN
Specifically, the prices of various types of mollusks at purchasing agencies as of the morning of April 25 increased by an average of 5,000 – 10,000 VND/kg, such as the price of clams with 50 pieces/kg being purchased at 35,000 VND/kg; the price of mussels with 10 pieces/kg being purchased at 30,000 VND/kg, the price of blood cockles with 80 – 1000 pieces/kg being purchased at 115,000 VND/kg. In particular, the price of meat crabs and roe crabs of size 1 (1 – 2 pieces/kg) is 450,000 VND/kg, crabs of size 2 (4 – 5 pieces/kg) have a price of 300,000 – 350,000 VND/kg, an increase of 50,000 VND/kg compared to 3 days ago. For green-legged shrimp, type 2 (8 – 10 pieces/kg), the price is 250,000 – 260,000 VND/kg, an increase of 10,000 – 20,000 VND/kg.
Mr. Nguyen Huu Tai, an agent specializing in purchasing aquatic and marine products at Tra Vinh Market, said that the prices of seafood have started to increase mainly because the provinces and cities in the Southern region, especially the Ho Chi Minh City Market, are experiencing a sharp increase in seafood consumption. Besides, the source of sea crabs and green-legged shrimp in the province’s farming areas are currently in the early stages of a new farming season, hence the amount of harvested sea crabs and green-legged shrimp reaching size 1 and size 2 have dropped by 60%, and the supply is insufficient to meet market demand.
Mr. Nguyen Van Hung, a farmer specializing in raising sea crabs in Rach Goc hamlet, Long Hoa island commune, Chau Thanh district, said that it takes about 4 – 5 months to raise sea crabs from the time the crab seeds are released until harvest. Therefore, most of the sea crab farming areas in the province have not yet reached the period for mass harvest. Currently, only households raising aquatic products according to the extensive forest – aquatic model that combines shrimp farming, crab farming, and fish farming harvest using the thinning method, selecting crabs that have reached the right size to sell, so the output is not much.
According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tra Vinh Province, from the beginning of the year to the present, farmers in coastal areas of the province have just released over 67 million young sea crabs, with an area of 12,433 hectares, reaching 54% of the yearly plan. The yield of farmed sea crabs has exceeded 1,444 tons, reaching over 23% compared to the total output of farmed crabs harvested in 2023.
