The price of giant freshwater prawns sold at the farm ranges from 90,000 to 100,000 VND per kilogram, down 25% compared to the same period last year.
Mr. Hung in Kien Giang said he raised nearly a hectare of shrimp, with an output of more than 500 kg – the highest in the past 3 years. However, at a price of 90,000 VND per kg, after deducting costs, the profit he earned was only about ten million VND. “There has never been a year when the price of giant freshwater prawns has been as low as this year,” Mr. Hung said.
Similarly, Mr. Hanh in Vinh Thuan (Kien Giang) said his family had finished harvesting 2 hectares of white-leg shrimp, tiger prawns and green claws, but the selling price was too low so the profit was very little. “The low selling price means the money earned is only enough to pay farming costs,” he shared.
At traditional and online markets, giant freshwater prawns are also for sale at a discount of 20-50% compared to the previous season, down to 105,000-210,000 VND per kg (depending on size).
Ms. Hanh, a small trader selling shrimp at Pham Van Hai market (Tan Binh), said that at the beginning of the year, each kilogram of type 1 giant freshwater shrimp (6-10 shrimp per kilogram) was priced at 425,000 VND, now it is only 210,000 VND. For 12-15 fish per kg, the price is also halved, to 150,000 VND.
Mr. Hiep posted giant freshwater shrimp for sale at a wholesale price of 80,000-105,000 VND per kg. Image: Viet Hiep
Weak purchasing power while high supply is the reason why giant freshwater prawn prices have dropped sharply. Mr. Hoang, a trader in the West, said that last year, he sold about 2-3 tons of shrimp a day to wholesalers at Binh Dien market, but now it is down 50%. “Consumption is too low, shrimp prices are also continuously falling, causing me heavy losses,” he said.
Mr. Hiep, another shrimp trader, also said he had lost half a billion VND from the beginning of the year until now. He explained that sometimes he buys from farming households for 120,000 VND per kg, but wholesale markets reduce imports because of slow consumption, forcing him to sell at a loss of 100,000-105,000 VND.
According to the Kien Giang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the province has 4 giant freshwater shrimp farming districts with large area and output, including: Vinh Thuan, An Bien, An Minh, and U Minh Thuong. Previously, traders bought giant giant freshwater prawns mostly for export to the Chinese, Cambodian, and Thai markets and supplied domestically to large wholesale markets in provinces and cities.
However, from the middle of last year until now, the giant freshwater shrimp export market has encountered difficulties, traders mainly purchase to serve the domestic consumption market. However, this year, the economy is difficult and people are tightening their spending, causing domestic consumption to decrease sharply compared to previous years. The price of giant freshwater prawns therefore continuously decreased sharply.
Currently, this province has a total brackish water shrimp farming area estimated at over 136,000 hectares; Of which, there are more than 106,000 hectares of production under the shrimp-rice model, mainly intercropping black tiger shrimp, giant giant prawns, white-leg shrimp and mud crabs. Farmed shrimp output in the province as of December 10 was over 105,000 tons, reaching over 95% of the 2023 plan.
To support farmers, this province is also calling on giant giant prawn purchasing companies to connect with cooperatives to help keep output at a more stable level.
Hong Chau