August 26, 2010

Vietnam's province banks on seafood exports

Vietnam's southernmost province of Ca Mau targets seafood export revenues in excess of US$1 billion per year by 2015, local officials have said.

According to reports, officials said the province plans an annual aquaculture output of 450,000 tonnes by then, including 170,000 tonnes of shrimp. To meet these targets, the province will develop aquaculture cultivation in all types of water, focusing on extensive, industrial and organic shrimp breeding using advanced technology to ensure high output.

The different models of shrimp cultivation are applied due to different characteristics in area, investment, shrimp feed, and the technology selected. The breeding of giant freshwater shrimp will be developed in the northern part of the province under various models like shrimp-rice and shrimp-forest cultivation.

In the districts of U Minh, Thoi Binh and Tran Thoi as well as Ca Mau City, the breeding of freshwater fish would be revived and developed, reports said.

Additionally, the province will also invest in developing different models to breed the giant mottled eel and marble goby fish.

Currently, the province breeds different varieties of fish on 32,000 hectares, according to reports. Ca Mau will increase its industrial shrimp breeding area to 10,000 hectares by 2015, the provincial People's Committee has said.

The province now has 265,153 hectares devoted to shrimp breeding, of which, the extensive model accounts for 263,713 hectares and industrial breeding for just 1,440 hectares.

The average output of extensive breeding is only 0.35 tonnes per hectare while the average output in industrial shrimp breeding farms reaches five tonnes per hectare.

The People's Committee has also issued a draft plan for developing industrial shrimp breeding zones in the province. Under the plan, each industrial breeding zone will have an area of more than 50 hectares. In places where there are geographical and area limitations, such zones will have an area of at least 30 hectares.

Favourable conditions would be created for developing industrial shrimp breeding, including irrigation projects, power supply and roads, local officials said.